Where Earth Meets Sky
by Gentlewolf
Summary: It is after the war has ended.  Toph finds herself at the Northern Air Temple and slowly finds her crush fading and a new love beginning.
1. On the Wings of a Glider?

Where Earth Meets Sky:

Chapter 1: On the wings of… a glider?

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**Author Note:** So, here I go again, with a new series fic. *Nervous laugh*

Okay... so, originally, this was my first attempt at an **ATLA** fic. I planned for it to be Tokka, but when I got to the second part, I suddenly saw the possibilities for Teoph. I didn't like how the fic was turning out, it was frustrating me, so I scrapped it and started to work on **ATLA: New Beginnings** instead. When I found the **Teoph-LightEarth** group in **DeviantArt**, I discovered that my idea of Teoph was actually shared with others. I wasn't the first person to think about it.

Don't get me wrong, I still LOVE Tokka! Tokka is my favorite, but I saw how my previously scrapped fanfic could turn into a Teoph fic instead. So, I decided to edit it and see how it turned out... So far I have received a few good reviews on it in **DA**, so I decided to see how everyone likes it here, in .

**Disclaimer:** Avatar, These characters, and this setting are all property of Mike & Bryan. I do not claim any rights. Only the idea for this fanfic are my own.

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"I don't need you to take care of me!" Toph yelled; balling her fists at her sides and stomping her foot as she dropped into her horse stance. The earth shook beneath her feet and split. The crack ran along the ground towards him, causing him to jump to the side in order to avoid being swallowed into its depths. He rolled after losing his balance and barely made it out of the way.

"Whoa!" He exclaimed in a panic and scrambled to his feet in time to narrowly avoid being crushed by a boulder. "Toph, calm down! Are you trying to kill me?"

"I am not weak, Sokka! You don't need to protect me!" She empathized, sending a boulder flying at him after each spoken word. Now she could call HIM Twinkle toes. Through her feet, she could detect his movements as he jumped, ducked, or rolled out of the way - as if he were dancing with death. Toph smirked at her thought. "I am leaving, and I will be leaving without you!" She spat and spun around on her heals, "and don't follow me!" She commanded over her shoulder, and threw her hands down at her sides with her palms pressing towards the earth. A large gash of the earth dropped between them, creating a deep canyon - wide enough that it couldn't be easily jumped and long enough that it would take a few hours to walk around.

Sokka watched her storm off into the forest from where he sat. He had fallen to his butt after the large quake that resulted from the formation of the canyon. He was stunned beyond belief by her actions. "Wh…wh…what was that about?" He exclaimed, jumping to his feet in a huff. "I was just trying to help!"

"Well, how could you blame her? You dote on her as if she were a child!"

Sokka turned to find his girlfriend, Suki, who leaned against one of the boulders that had nearly been his demise. "What? I do not!" He defended himself and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Yes, Sokka, you do. You are constantly doing things for her, as if she can't do them on her own… as if she were helpless." Suki told him matter-of-factly.

"I do not!"

The Kyoshi Warrior shook her head in exasperation. "Sokka, a year ago, after the war ended, I understood why you wanted to go with her to her parent's estate. I even went along for support. I didn't even have any objections when you helped her run away from them again. I made no objections to allowing her to live with us so that you would stop worrying over her safety."

Sokka was in his own state of self glorification, basking in what he believed to be praise for selfless loyalty towards his friend.

"But," Suki continued, "Whenever Toph said that she wanted to do anything or go anywhere, you were glued to her side, insistent on going with. "

"Well, what do you expect me to do? She couldn't possibly travel alone! How could she possibly navigate? She would have to ask someone where she was, where she was going, or how to get to where she wanted to be."

Suki shook her head with a sigh. "This is exactly what I am talking about, Sokka - exactly what SHE was talking about! She is not helpless. Don't you think that you are treating her exactly the same way that her parents did, by being a little TOO over protective?"

Sokka's mouth dropped. "What? No! That's not… I didn't… I only…" he stammered - his heart sinking as he faced the facts.

"You only meant well…" Suki finished his train of thought. "Just leave her alone, Sokka. She can take care of herself. She doesn't need you to protect her and obviously she doesn't want you to protect her, either."

Sokka took a deep breath and mulled over her words for a moment. "I don't know, Suki, there's no telling where she's off to or what kind of trouble she'll get into."

"What kind of trouble could she possibly get into that is so dire she would need to be protected? The war is over, Sokka!"

* * *

Toph earth surfed across the terrain with vigorous force, eager to get as far away from the two love birds as she could. They were driving her nuts, constantly kissing and cuddling and cooing at one another. It made her feel uncomfortable.

Through her feet she could tell that she was heading towards the mountains. If she hadn't known that they were in the Northern Earth Kingdom, she would stay clear of the mountain ranges. Upon reaching the change of landscape, she climbed up the side of the mountain on a stone pillar. She stopped to rest only when her form of travel began to slow - the result of an overuse of earthbending. She fell to her back, her arms and legs spread eagle, and succumbed to the swirling depths of sleep.

When her consciousness slowly began to return, and she was in that state that is somewhere between being awake and dreaming, she felt that she was not alone. At first, she couldn't tell if she wasn't still dreaming, but then it moved; it didn't move like a human and if it was an animal, then it was a fairly large one – but it didn't have the feel of an animal either. Toph's eyes snapped open and she leapt to her feet, wide awake. "Who's there?" She demanded, holding a threatening position, ready to earthbend the creature into oblivion.

"Toph, calm down, it's me," said a vaguely familiar voice. The image finally formed in her mind of what looked like a mini wagon.

"Who?" She asked, but didn't relax her stance.

"Teo," the boy answered calmly, so as not to set the blind earthbender off. "We met during the invasion. My father is who made the submarines,"

Recollection formed over Toph's face and she relaxed. "Oh… hi…" She said, moving a hand to the back of her head and giving him a goofy smile. "Sorry about that… At first I thought you were a talking wagon," she said nervously. His glider made it impossible for her to see him clearly.

"No problem," Teo replied, taking no offence. "What are you doing here? Where is everyone?"

"I was about to ask you the same thing. What are you doing here?"

"I live here," Teo stated, not missing her look of shock. Of course, she wouldn't know, she hadn't been with the Avatar when they first met. "You are near the Northern Air Temple."

Toph didn't bother to hide her surprise. "You live at the Northern Air Temple?" She voiced her amazement. "I thought that the air nomads were wiped out over a century ago."

She felt the slightest vibration through the stone as he moved the glider towards her. "It'll be dark soon, why don't I explain that on our way to the temple?"

"How are we supposed to get to the temple?" Toph asked and stiffened when she felt him touch her hand.

"Fly, of course. You'll never get there before nightfall by earthbending."

"F…fly? Are you insane? I hate flying!" She exclaimed, taking a step away from the glider.

"Don't worry, I won't let anything happen to you." Toph could hear the smile on his face and she frowned; her unseeing eyes glaring in his direction.

"No way!" She exclaimed,

Teo figured that they could stay here all night arguing about it or, though he hated to do it to her, he could pull her onto the glider and take off. It was mean to do, he remembered from their time at the Western Air Temple that she would be completely blind if her feet weren't in contact with the ground.

With a strength that she wouldn't have expected him to have, Toph was suddenly yanked into his lap. She screamed uncharacteristically as her feet left the security of the mountain side, and they were soaring through the air before she could blink. "Are you insane!" She bellowed into his ear. Her arms were wrapped around his neck in a death grip.

"If you don't stop moving so much, we'll fall," he warned. "Relax, I've got you." Toph snorted in his ear and continued to cling around his neck.

Teo was fully aware of her fears and attempted to distract her with the story of how his father had led his people into the mountains after a great flood had destroyed their home, killing Teo's mother, and leaving Teo paralyzed. He explained how they had made the old temple their new home. Toph was aware of his father's inventions, especially the airships that the fire kingdom used during the war. The airships were now used among all of the kingdoms. Many of the Mechanist's inventions had helped to rebuild all of the kingdoms after the war; or so Sokka had told her.

As Teo's glider neared the Northern Air Temple, Toph could hear the crowd of people that awaited them. Once the glider landed, however, there was complete silence. Toph wasted no time to scramble off of the glider and place her feet to the ground.

"Everyone," she heard Teo begin his introduction. "This is Toph. Toph, everyone."

Toph smirked about his reference to everyone. She was sure that there were more than 10 people here. She could feel the bustling of many others around the temple. From those that she had just been introduced to, she could sense their curiosity, but offered no explanation - she merely acknowledged their existence with a nod.

"Come on," Teo said beside her. "Let's go get some dinner."


	2. A Time of Reflection

**Where Earth Meets Sky:**

_Chapter 2: A Time of Reflection_

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**Author Note:** Okay, so I've decided to continue writing this, obviously. I really think that I can have a lot of fun with it. I'm not sure, yet, how long this will end up being. We'll see. I don't really have a set plan for this story, yet. I have a few ideas that I want to happen, but no major plot or anything. If anyone wants to offer some suggestions or anything they may like to see, please let me know.

btw, do you all think I have Teo in character? He seems like a pretty fun loving guy to me. Plus he's good natured and respectful. He also doesn't let his handicap get him down...so I was thinking that he'd totally understand Toph wanting to do things for herself and wouldn't even question it...knowing how it feels when people do everything for you... or something like that.

I also kind of imagine that he's the one who starts off with the crush. You don't get to see much interaction between them from their time at the Western Air Temple and what not...but I'm imagining that she caught his attention (if nothing else, because she is blind) Hmmm... I had actually thought of another short Teoph oneshot revolving around that thought. BUT, Time will tell...

**Disclaimer:** Avatar, the characters in this fic, and the setting are property of Mike & Bryan. I do not claim any rights to them. Only the idea for this fanfic are my own.

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"Hey, Dad, look who came for a visit!" Teo announced. Toph followed him into a room and the scent of roasted meat made her mouth water - she hadn't eaten since that morning. There was a long buffet table set up in the center of the room with four long dining tables laid out in a square around it. Her stomach growled in anticipation.

"My dear Toph, to what do we owe the pleasure of your company?" The Mechanist stood from his chair to greet her. "Are you alone?" Toph felt him looking around for the rest of the team.

"Hi-ya," Toph replied. "Yep, it's just me."

"I found her on the side of the mountain trying to earthbend her way up here," Teo explained to his father before Toph had the chance to say anything more.

"I didn't even know that I was near the Northern Air Temple." Toph crossed her arms over her chest defensively.

"Then it's a good thing that I found you," Teo laughed when her stomach rumbled again. Toph tried not to smile, but the corners of her mouth betrayed her. "Come on, let's get some grub." He said and led her through an opening at the corner of the tables towards the buffet table in the middle. He had grabbed two plates – one for him and one for her – and prepared to make one of them up for her. "What do you like? We have…" He trailed off when he looked at her to find that she had already snatched up a roasted duck leg and was tearing at its flesh. "Would you like me to put more of that on a plate for you?" He asked in amusement.

Toph chewed noisily and held out her empty hand for the plate. "I can get it on my own," she said with some annoyance and her mouth still full.

"Suit yourself." Teo shrugged and handed the plate to her. He pushed his wheelchair along beside the table, piling his own plate – which sat in his lap – with food. Toph swallowed her mouthful and, for a short moment, actually regret being so rude. Usually when she told someone that she could do something on her own, they did it for her anyway.

It took a little longer then she expected to fill her plate to the brim with more roast duck, some tofu puffs, rice, leechi nuts, and moon-peach slices. She then made her way back towards where she felt Teo and his father sitting. This took her another minute, since there were so many people in the dining hall. It was frustrating, but she relished in the new found sense of freedom – no one was around to guide her around or to do everything for her. She decided that she had become far too dependent on Sokka, despite the little crush that she had on him.

"What brings you to visit; a message from the Avatar?" The Mechanist asked when she sat across from them. "I'm surprised that he hasn't come to visit."

"Aang has been busy for the past year helping Zuko…" She paused before correcting herself… "Fire Lord Zuko… with peace talks and negotiations, but that has nothing to do with me being here."

The Mechanist nodded, forgetting about her blindness, and thought about what she said. Toph continued to eat, unaware of his action.

"You know, being an earthbender and all, I bet she could really help you out with your current project," Teo suggested to his father. Toph took another bite of food and looked across the table in his direction. "That is, if she has some free time."

"I'm not in any hurry to leave," she answered. It wasn't like she really had anywhere to go, since she refused to return home.

"Then, it would be an honor to have the world's greatest earthbender stay with us," the Mechanist said, using her self-proclaimed title.

"So, what could you use my help with?"

"Oh, no need to go into that now. We can talk about it tomorrow," he said. "After you eat, Teo can show you to one of the guest rooms. You look tired."

Toph merely nodded. She **was** tired, even after her previous nap on the mountain side. She continued to eat her dinner and only engaged in small talk or nodded occasionally in agreement with the conversation that they were having. When she was finished she laid her chop sticks across her empty plate and stretched, barely stifling a yawn.

"Come on, I'll take you to the room so that you can get some sleep." Teo pushed his chair away from the table and maneuvered it around to face the door. He waited briefly for her before continuing through it. He thought about the way that he had found her earlier that afternoon. At first he had thought that she was dead. After landing on the cramped cliff edge he was relieved to see her chest rise and fall with her steady breathing. She had quickly noticed his presence – not surprisingly – and jolted out of her deep sleep. Whatever her reasons for being alone, her level of exhaustion led him to believe that there was something that she wasn't telling them.

During his time spent with the team at the Western Air Temple, Teo had learned just enough about her to know that she wasn't ever away from Sokka for long. Though she was reserved about her situation to his father, Teo's curiosity got the best of him.

"Did something happen to the others?" He asked while leading her through the stone corridor.

"Huh? No… Why do you ask?"

"It just seems odd that you're not with them." Teo turned his chair to the left to lead her down another hall.

Toph followed and thought about how she would answer his question. She could just as easily say that it didn't concern him, but there was something about him that made her feel… comfortable. She hadn't ever known anyone with similar circumstances to her own – having a handicap – and she wondered if this gave them both an understanding of one another that others – without a handicap – didn't have. "Yeah, well, what can I say?" she shrugged. "Two's company…"

"Three's a crowd," he finished with a nod. He had also sensed this, back at the Western Air Temple, after Sokka returned from his fishing trip with Zuko with his father and his girlfriend.

Toph snickered at his remark. "You have no idea!"

They continued onward in silence, up an air lift, and down another hall. Teo stopped in front of a heavy wooden door, turned the doorknob, and pushed it open. "My room actually isn't far from here, so I'll stop by in the morning on the way to breakfast," he told her as she walked past him into the room. He watched as she effortlessly crossed the room to the bed where she fell face first onto the mattress and raised a hand to give him a thumbs-up.


	3. The Rescue

**Where Earth Meets Sky:**

_Chapter 3: The Rescue_

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**Author Note:** Wow, this chapter is way longer then the first two... Yeah, she's still thinking about Sokka... you can't expect someone to change who they love in less then a day... but that will change... eventually. SO, does anyone have anything that they might like to see happen? I'm open for suggestions**. **

******Disclaimer**: I do NOT own the characters or setting in this fic. Well... I might own Emi, Milo, & Yuki...but I just made up names for the kids shown around the temple. I don't know if there was a girl flying with a glider, though... Anyway, the characters and setting belong to Mike and Bryan. Only the ideas for this fic are my own.

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****Toph woke the next morning to the sound of the guest room door being opened. "Gee, you're up early, Snoozles," she muttered and rolled onto her back. She wasn't answered by Sokka's groggy, morning voice. Instead she heard the sound of something being rolled towards her. "Wow, breakfast in bed? What gives, Meathead?" She sat up. "Hey, I'm a poet!" Her hair stuck out all over the place from her bun. Someone snickered, barely able to hold back a laugh, it wasn't Sokka.

Toph's expression changed to one of malice. "Who's there?" She leapt to her feet; as soon as they touched the stone floor she recognized Teo's form. "Oh…" her voice dripped with disappointment. Her mind slowly replayed everything that she had just said, causing her cheeks to burn with embarrassment.

Teo burst into laughter. "You look like a boar-q-pine!"

Toph's embarrassment quickly turned into anger. She balled her fists and the stone walls shook. Teo stopped laughing and realized his mistake. He rolled his wheelchair backwards towards the door. "Alright, alright… I'm sorry, calm down, Toph." He tried to reason with her but a small piece of stone shook loose from the wall and struck him in the forehead. "Ow! Hey!" He spun his chair around and sped out of the room to avoid any more injuries.

Toph collapsed to her knees and the room stopped shaking. Teo's words echoed through her mind simultaneously with the last words that she had heard Sokka say yesterday. At least Sokka could dodge her attacks, but Teo couldn't. A sense of guilt washed over her again – spirits, what was happening? This was the second time in less than a full day that she was feeling guilty over her actions.

A knock on the door jolted her and she touched the ground to see a young woman standing in the hall, shifting nervously; her heartbeat was erratic. Toph pushed to her feet and was able to tell that her company was scared to death. From the size and shape of the body, Toph judged the girl to be around Katara's age. "Yes?" Teo had left the door open in his hasty retreat.

"I… The… Uh…" The girl sputtered.

"Uh – huh?" Toph tried her best to make herself appear non-threatening, but apparently wasn't doing so well.

"I was asked to… To see if… If you needed any help…"

"Oh, um, yeah, I could use some help getting around this place."

Toph went about her morning routine, which consisted of reliving her bladder and straightening her clothes. The girl who had been sent to help her gave a look of horror when Toph announced that she was ready. "But… But… Your hair…"

"Oh, I forgot." Toph brushed the loose strands of her hair behind her ears. "There. Let's go, I'm starving."

The girl, who had introduced herself as Emi, let out a frustrated sigh. "You can't go out looking like that."

Toph's face scrunched up as she wondered why she couldn't. She always went out like this. "O…kay?"

"May I?" Toph felt Emi touch her hair and, without waiting for an answer, released it of its usual bun. "Your hair would be even more beautiful if you washed and took care of it." Toph blushed furiously. "May I?"

Toph shrugged, figuring that there was no way out of it. This girl seemed to be as bad as Katara was about making sure that she was presentable.

Half an hour later, Toph's stomach growled in protest as Emi finished weaving her freshly washed hair into two braids. She blew her bangs out of her eyes impatiently. "Are you done yet?"

"All most," Emi answered. Toph could feel her tying off the end of the second braid. "There! Now doesn't that feel better?"

"I'll let you know when my stomach is full."

Emi laughed – wow, she really loosened up – and brushed something off of Toph's shoulder. "Okay, let's go."

Toph followed Emi down to the dining hall - it was mostly empty now. Most everyone else had already eaten and started their day. They helped themselves to what little food was left; Toph made a mental note to wake up earlier. When they sat down at one of the surrounding tables to eat, Emi explained how the women switched off cooking meals for everyone to share. "The chores are split among small groups of women who cook or do laundry or clean. The groups switch chores every few days so that no one is constantly doing the same thing. Everyone helps out and things get done faster; leaving more time for leisure activities."

"What do the men do?" Toph asked.

"Oh, you know… hunt, fish, construction, go down the mountain to the nearest village for supplies… that kind of stuff."

Toph nodded, it was just as she thought; she would rather do the men's job. Speaking of jobs, Toph remembered something. "Hey, I'm supposed to be meeting up with the Mechanist, do you know where I can find him?"

"Sure, he's probably in his workshop. I'll take you there when we're finished."

They finished their breakfast in silence and returned their dishes to the kitchen, where Toph counted six woman busy working. Dishes clanked as they were being washed, water was boiling on what she presumed to be a stove, someone was sweeping up what felt like spilled uncooked rice, and the most delicious smells wafted to her nose - reminding her of home.

Emi led her back out to the hall and through the temple, chattering away about some of the temple renditions and what they were used for. Considering that Toph couldn't see what she was talking about, she didn't care much and faked a yawn.

"You're tired already?" Emi stopped explaining about how the device that she was currently talking about worked the airlifts. Toph waved a hand before her eyes as a reminder to the other girl that she was blind. "Oh… Right… Sorry about that."

Toph shrugged, "Not the first; won't be the last." Emi didn't respond, Toph could sense the girl's uneasiness. "So, you're saying that the Mechanist invented a way to work the air lifts with the use of steam," Toph summarized Emi's previous explanation to show that she had been paying attention, despite her inability to see what the girl had been talking about. There was something about the girl that made Toph regret speaking so harshly to her; she was more complaisant then Katara ever was.

"Yes, exactly!" Emi said cheerfully; Toph could hear the smile on her face. "Well, we're here." She came to a stop in front of a door and knocked, but Toph didn't need to wait for an answer to feel that no one was in the room.

"He's not here."

"Are you sure?"

Toph nodded, "Teo mentioned that he could use my help with some project that he is working on; any idea where that could be?"

Emi led her further down the corridor and down another air lift. They walked down another hall that led them outside. Toph recognized the area; it was where Teo had landed his glider yesterday when they arrived. There was a crowd of people gathered into a huddle; she could feel that something wasn't right. The girls stepped forward, curious about what was going on.

"The ledge is too narrow, there's no way that I can land on it." Teo's voice reached their ears.

A sob came from a woman who stood beside him; her hands were covering her face. "I don't understand how this happened."

"He was trying to do a triple spiral flip, but he misjudged how close he was to the mountain side," A boy, who stood with something that reminded Toph of Aang's air glider, explained.

"I warned him not to try such tricks," the woman cried.

"What's going on?" Toph asked as she came to a stop behind Teo.

"Milo crashed his air glider into the side of the mountain. He's hurt pretty bad, and unconscious, but I can't land my glider to bring him back here."

"Where is he?"

Teo turned his glider to the side so that he could look at her. It occurred to him that she could help. "He's pretty far down the mountain. I would have to fly you there."

"What? Who said I was going to fly anywhere?"

"You're an earthbender. You can extend the ledge so that I can land."

Toph's eyes widened and she stepped away from him. "There's no way I'm getting on that thing again!" She was referring to his glider.

"Y… You're an earthbender?" The woman who was previously crying approached Toph and took hold of her hand. "Please… Please help my son,"

"_Oh spirits…"_ Toph swore in her mind. How could she ignore the pleas of a desperate mother? A moment passed, during which time the woman continued to plead for her help. Toph's heart thumped loudly at the thought of flying again. She was aware that everyone's eyes were now upon her. "Fine…" She answered, after swallowing the knot in her throat.

Toph was pulled into a tight hug by the woman. "Oh thank you… Thank you!"

"Yeah yeah…" Toph said reluctantly. "Let's just get this over with." She felt Teo roll towards her and her stomach fell at the thought of what she was about to do. Even Appa was a sturdy comfort and a more preferred form of travel compared to flying on his glider – it was so small and seemed so fragile.

"Ready?" Teo touched her hand and waited for her response.

"Not really…" Her voice didn't sound right; it was meek and fearful.

Teo squeezed her hand gently. "Don't worry, I won't let you fall."

Toph nodded and let him pull her onto his lap. She wrapped her arms securely around his neck and buried her head against his shoulder when the glider started to move – someone was pushing it from behind. "Hold on tight," she heard him say as the glider lifted into the air.

The wind whooshed passed her and the glider shook with the turbulence that it caused. Toph squeezed her eyes shut at the awareness of her vulnerability and the fact that her life was now in his hands. "I'm Sorry!"

Teo chuckled and she felt him turn the glider downwards and to the right. They were descending into a slow spiral. "Relax; I've got things under control."

"About this morning," she explained the reason for her apology.

"Oh…" he said "Well, I probably deserved it. I shouldn't have laughed at you. So, I'm sorry too."

She could feel his heartbeat. It was strong and steady, like a rock. He smelled like the air, clean and crisp. Heat rose into her cheeks when she became aware that she was clinging to him, she had only ever clung to one other boy before. She didn't understand why it caused her heart to skip a beat, but shook it off as being caused by their flight. "Are we there yet?"

"Almost," Teo was reminded of the urgency of the situation. He had been momentarily distracted by the scent of her hair and the way that she held onto him. "I'm going to have to land on the cliff above him."

Toph nodded against his shoulder. "Just get me back on solid ground." The glider made a smooth landing, much to her relief, and she wasted no time in leaping out of his lap. The world came back into focus beneath her and she saw the tiny ledge that contained two bodies. "There are two people down there."

Teo nodded, amazed at her ability to see through the earth. He couldn't even see them with his own eyes. "Yuki stayed to watch over him."

As if on cue the girl called up to them from the ledge below. "Teo! What's going on?"

"Tell her to get them both as close to the wall as possible and to hang on," Toph instructed. Teo did as he was told while she focused on extending the ledge without jolting anyone off.

"That's good," Teo said just before disappearing from her sight. He reappeared a minute later when he landed on the cliff below - Toph earthbended herself down to help.

By some miracle, Milo only had a few scratches, but it was the internal damage that worried Toph. From what she could tell, his internal functions were normal, but she wasn't Katara. She carefully earthbended a bed of stone to rise up beneath the boy. This allowed Teo to slide him onto the glider. The girl, Yuki, fussed around them a bit, ensuring that Milo would be secure. "Thanks, Toph," Teo said as he prepared to take off. "I'll be right back down for you."

"Don't bother; I'll get myself back…"

Teo looked at her with a little disappointment; he enjoyed flying with her. "Very well, but if you take too long, I'll come looking for you." Toph couldn't tell if that was a threat or a promise.

"Teo, let's go," Yuki spoke up impatiently as she opened her glider. He acknowledged her with a nod.

"Oh, by the way, Toph." She looked towards his direction. "Your hair looks cute like that."

Before she could fully process what he had said, they disappeared. Toph felt the blood rush to her face and stared, unseeing, after him.


	4. White Lotus

Where Earth Meets Sky:

Chapter 4: White Lotus

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**Author Note:** Wow, I'm really pleased with the way this fic is going. The ideas just keep flowing. I have already started to write Ch. 5.

I do have a few things planned...but before they can happen I need some fillers to show the passage of time... and also to develop the relationship between the characters some more, so PLEASE, by all means, if you have anything that you think you might like to see happen, let me know and I'll play around with the idea.

**Disclaimer:** These characters and the setting do not belong to me! They are the property of Mike & Bryan! Only the ideas for this fic are my own. oh, and Milo, Yuki, & Emi...

* * *

A gust of wind carried Teo's glider up through the air towards the Northern Air Temple. The weight of Milo's unconscious body lay against him as he maneuvered through the sky.

"So, you and the earthbender are together now?" Yuki guided her air glider closer to his.

"She's interested in someone else," he answered casually. At the moment, he was concentrating on making the flight as smooth as possible. There was no telling how severe Milo's injuries were.

"Then she already has a boyfriend?"

Teo glanced over at her, wondering what this was about. "No."

Yuki's eyes moved to his, "Oh, then is he interested in her too?"

Teo looked away and turned his glider; they were at the temple. "He already has a girlfriend."

Yuki followed his move. "So why don't you give it a shot?"

"Way ahead of you," he replied and angled his glider downward to go in for a landing.

A crowd awaited their return. The community doctor was there for Milo's immediate inspection. When it was determined that Milo was safe to move, the Doctor and the Mechanist lifted the boy off of the glider and laid him out on a stretcher to be taken to the medical wing. Yuki followed closely behind them.

"Where is the little earthbender?" Milo's mother stayed behind to ask.

"She's on her way back."

"When she returns, you'll let me know, won't you? I'd like to thank her properly."

Teo nodded and she rushed off to follow after the others.

For a moment, Teo debated going to retrieve Toph, but decided against it. She had made it clear that she would return on her own. However, his mind would not let it go, and in end he figured that it couldn't hurt if he went, just to watch – to be sure she made it back ok. She was blind, after all, how would she know if he was watching? He wouldn't be on the ground where she could feel him.

* * *

"What the Spirits?" Toph exploded after recovering from her brief moment of shock. She couldn't understand why her face felt so hot or why her heart fluttered at Teo's comment. "What's wrong with me?" She liked Sokka, yet Sokka hadn't ever given her a compliment like that. She slapped her cheeks a few times with both hands and shook her head to clear her mind. She loved Sokka, she reminded herself, and earthbended her way back up towards the temple.

Toph was about half way there when she heard the swooshing sound of his glider over head. At first, she chose to ignore it, expecting that he was just following through with his threat to come back down after her, but she vowed that she wasn't getting back on his glider ever again.

There was a swoosh of the wind as he flew above her. He probably thought that he was being silent, but her sensitive ears picked up the slightest sounds of the glider sails as the wind blew under them. He must have done a loop higher up above her because she heard him coming up behind her again. This time she stomped her foot and sent a bolder flying up at him. "I'm blind, not deaf! I can hear you, ya know?" she yelled up to him in annoyance.

She heard a swish, swish, swoosh and felt the wind blow her braids past her face as he flew past her and landed. There was the slightest vibration beneath her as the glider slid to a stop, suddenly bringing him into her view. "I told you not to bother coming back for me!"

"Yeah, well I just wanted to be sure you made it okay."

"Why wouldn't I? Don't underestimate me just because I'm blind." Toph's fists were balled, but thus far the earth remained calm.

"I wouldn't dream of it," Teo spoke calmly and watched her closely. She narrowed her eyes in his direction.

"Then why are you here, Hotshot?"

Teo couldn't keep the grin off of his face; he had been given a nickname! She only gave nicknames to those who were closest to her – or those who she wanted to kill – but he refused to think of the latter. "Hey, I like it!" he remarked triumphantly.

Toph crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?" She could hear the big goofy grin on his face.

"My nickname; you give nicknames out of affection, right?" Her blush didn't go unnoticed.

"No, I punch people to show affection, I give nicknames out of annoyance." She turned away from him, cursing under her breath about her unusually quick pulse, and continued to earthbend up the mountain.

"_Progress is still progress,"_ Teo thought as he watched her. He pushed himself back into the air, this time staying further from her, but never losing her from his sight. He admired her strength and independence.

Toph was aware of his lingering presence. She couldn't decide if she was angry about it or not. He stayed far enough away that she couldn't hear what he was doing, but she could feel his eyes upon her. It made her somewhat uncomfortable and, for a moment, she considered leaving the area altogether, but she had agreed to help the Mechanist.

When Toph reached the temple, she found herself in what seemed to be a garden. The ground was lush beneath her bare feet. Somewhere off to her right she could hear the sound of water. It was peaceful here. Various trees and flowers shot up from the ground. She could smell the sweetness of a flower that she wasn't familiar with. Upon closer examination of the flower she discovered that its petals were as soft as velvet.

"It's a white lotus." She had known that he was there, she saw the glider the moment it landed, but she chose to ignore him. "They are very beautiful." He pushed the glider up beside her, leaving a few feet between them. Toph couldn't hide her smirk. At least he had enough sense not to get _too_ close to her. "It's white, like the color of snow. Well, it's actually the absence of color. It's the opposite of dark, which is a combination of every color." As he tried to explain this concept to her, she heard him fiddling around with his glider. Just what was he doing anyway?

In the next moment she was surprised when his feet touched the ground in the space between them; his feet were bound together. She jerked her head to look in his direction. She could tell that he was lowering himself to the ground beside her. She stiffened and her eyes went wide when his form came to her mind. His laughter filled her ears.

"Wh…What are you doing?"

"Just thought I'd sit for a moment and enjoy the beauty around me,"

"You were already sitting!"

"Well, yeah, but I do get tired of sitting in that chair sometimes, you know."

Toph looked away from him and concentrated on the movements of an ant mound on the other side of the flower bed. Teo lay back in the grass, with his arms folded beneath his head. The warmth of the sun beat down on them and brought another thought to his mind.

"White is also the opposite of warmth. White is cool…"

Toph cut him off. "Yeah, I gathered that when you compared it to snow."

There was a moment of silence between them. "So… what happened?" Teo asked, searching for a topic of conversation.

"What are you talking about?"

"Yesterday."

Toph sighed, why was he bringing this up again? "I already told you."

"Not really. You did a good job of avoiding the subject, actually."

He had a point, "Because I don't want to talk about it."

"You know, there are other guys who may actually be interested in you."

"Urgh!" Toph was starting to get angry. "Mind your own business!"

Teo pushed himself up on his elbows and looked at her. She was glaring in his direction. "I am." His tone was serious. She punched the closest thing to her, which happened to be his legs. He didn't feel it, but judging by the force of the blow he imagined that it would hurt. "Ow…" he said on reflex and started to laugh. "You punched me! That means you like me, right?" his voice sounded upbeat and hopeful.

A growl of frustration erupted from Toph's throat. "You are so infuriating!" She leapt to her feet and stomped away, leaving him to stare after her with his eyes dancing in amusement.

* * *

**A/N 2: **So, what do you think? Is Teo still In Character? I'm having a lot of fun with him in this chapter. Of course, poor Toph is confused as all hell. She'll come around, eventually.


	5. Seed of Friendship

**Where Earth Meets Sky:**

_Chapter 5: Seed of Friendship_

* * *

**Disclaimer: **Disclaimer: These characters and the setting do not belong to me! They are the property of Mike & Bryan! Only the ideas for this fic are my own. oh, and Milo, Yuki, & Emi...

* * *

A week passed, during which time Toph avoided Teo like a swarm of buzzard wasps. Whenever she was around him she became confused. She set to the task of diligently helping the Mechanist. He was in the process of undoing the damage he had previously done to the temple.

It was difficult to restore the murals without being able to see them, so she worked under the Mechanists instructions. At the rate that they were going, it could take months. The Mechanist repeatedly reminded her that if it wasn't for her help this project could take years. He hoped to have most of the restorations done before Aang's next visit, but that could happen as soon as within the hour or as late as never.

Emi stopped by every morning to do Toph's hair. "You don't have to keep doing this," Toph told the girl when she showed up for the fourth day in a row. Toph hadn't been so clean since she left her parents estate. "You're not a servant, you know."

"I enjoy doing this," Emi replied while she pulled Toph's hair up into a high ponytail – her hair had been styled differently every day. "There are so many more things that I can do with your hair that I can't do with mine."

Toph supposed that there was no harm done. After all, it meant that they got to the dining hall after Teo had already finished.

The day after her episode in the garden with Teo; Yuki and Milo's mother had come to thank her. The woman gathered her into a warm hug, one that Toph didn't realize that she had missed – it reminded her of her own mother.

Milo, of course, was going to be fine; he merely had a minor concussion. He was up and about in a couple of days to thank her as well. Later that same day, as Toph passed by the landing strip, she heard him exclaim, "I did it! Did you see that Yuki? I did the triple spiral flip!" Toph didn't stay around to comment about it. She could feel Teo's glider there among his friends and didn't want to risk being noticed.

"Why don't we take a break today," The Mechanist suggested on the morning of the fifth day. "You have been working very hard, I think you deserve it."

"If you insist." Toph didn't know what she would do with herself if she wasn't working.

"Thanks for everything, Toph. Go have some fun, you **are** a kid, after all."

Toph didn't like to be reminded of that fact. Being a kid was awful. She bet that if she were older, Sokka would have noticed her more than Suki. She paused for a moment before leaving the workshop to make sure that no one was in the hall – specifically, Teo. After feeling that the coast was clear she made her way towards her room. She had memorized the path from her room, to the dining hall, to the Mechanists workshop, and to the landing strip - which was on the way to the workshop.

She was concentrating so hard on not running into Teo that she didn't notice when Emi walked up beside her and purposely hip-bumped her. Toph stumbled off center in surprise.

"Wow… you must really be distracted." Though Emi had only known her for a week she knew that it was impossible to sneak up on her – or so she thought.

"Emi!" Toph exclaimed. Her hand flew to her chest, over her heart.

"Why are you sneaking around?"

"Sneaking? I'm not sneaking."

"Uh-huh…" Emi said with just a hint of suspicion.

"I was given the day off and this place is still pretty confusing." It wasn't a complete lie.

Emi shifted the basket in her arms. "Want to help me then? We'll get done faster and then I'll give you another tour."

Toph shrugged. Judging by the object in the other girls arms, she imagined that it was laundry. "Sure, just don't expect me to sort colors."

Emi laughed – her voice rang like music in Toph's ears. "This laundry is already washed. It needs to be hung out to dry."

"Um… don't know how much help I'll be with that."

"That's okay; you can just keep me company then."

Toph followed Emi's lead further down the hall, up a couple of airlifts and into a room that contained a variety of tables and baskets.

"Where are we?"

"It's a laundry room," Emi said. Toph was now able to make out the towels and sheets that were folded on the tables. Emi led her through the room and out onto a balcony.

A cool breeze blew through Toph's hair, styled into two low ponytails at the nape of her neck. "So, how do you hang laundry out here?" She couldn't see anything except for how the balcony extended a couple of feet out from the door and was about four feet wide.

"The line is above you, it's connected to another tower wall across the way. There is a pulley to move the line further out into the open air." Emi explained. Toph reached above her to feel for the rope. Emi was already hanging the laundry and showed her how the pulley worked.

Before Toph realized what was happening, Emi was guiding her hands through the motions of hanging the laundry as well. She blushed with embarrassment at the idea that she was doing woman's work and imagined how much Sokka would have teased her. Emi giggled and Toph was about to ask what was so funny when she heard his voice.

"Yee… Haa… Whooo…"

"Toph collapsed to the balcony floor and pressed her back against the outer stone wall to hide. She couldn't see him, but she knew his voice. He must have been flying. Geez, did he ever do anything productive?

"Are you avoiding Teo or something?"

"What? No!" Toph responded, a little too quickly. "I just thought that I dropped a clothes pin." Toph stood up and rubbed the back of her neck. "Guess not." She gave a goofy grin.

Emi wasn't convinced since she had all of the clothes pins. "Do you like him or something?"

"What? No way! Are you nuts? He's so… so…" Toph thought hard for a reason to hate him, but nothing came to mind. "So annoying. Besides, I already like someone else."

"Ohhh… You do, do you?" Emi teased. "Who is he? What's he like?"

Toph could have smacked herself, what was she thinking… admitting her crush out loud? "No one you know," she waved the subject off.

"Aww, come on, if I don't know him then why are you so secretive about it?"

Toph hung what felt like a towel on the line and tried to ignore her.

"Come on, Toph… What's he like? What kind of boy stirs your heart?"

Toph sighed. "He's smart, really silly and goofy, and a lot of fun to be around."

"Hmmm… Sounds like Teo to me."

"What? No! Besides, the guy I'm interested in is older than me."

Emi nodded, "Well you're thirteen, right? Teo is fourteen, so yeah – it's Teo, isn't it?"

Toph's eyes narrowed as she glared into Emi's direction. "More than a year older!" She corrected her mistake with a dangerous hiss and the balcony began to vibrate.

"Okay, Okay, I'm sorry! I was just teasing you. Calm down, Toph!" Emi gripped the side of the balcony in panic.

Sensing her fear, Toph calmed herself. "He has a girlfriend already. I'm probably nothing more to him than a pitiful little blind girl," she confided. "We were traveling together and I guess I got jealous of all of their kissing and sweet talk. We got into a fight and I took off… That's when Teo found me."

Emi pulled her into a hug. "I'm sorry…"

Toph allowed the contact for a brief moment before pushing out of the hold. "I don't need your pity. I just told you so that you would shut up about Teo." She turned away and walked back into the room without another word.

"Where are you going?

"I'd like to be alone for awhile…"

* * *

Teo rolled into the dining hall later than usual – dinner was almost over. He scanned the room, hoping that she would be there. He hadn't had the chance to talk to her since their encounter in the garden. When he didn't see her, he let out a sigh of disappointment. Had he taken things too far?

He spotted Emi sitting alone at the far end of the table across the room. He recalled seeing her with Toph earlier, hanging laundry. When Toph suddenly dropped out of sight after hearing his voice, he knew for certain that she was avoiding him.

Teo crossed the room towards her. "Hey, Emi, where's Toph? Doesn't she normally eat with you?"

Emi glanced over at him and he thought that he saw a glimmer of guilt in her look. "I… I don't know where she is."

By reputation, Emi was a shy and quiet person. He had only spoken to her a few times in his entire life. She tended to hang around with the older women of the community rather than with her peers. "Did she eat already?"

Emi shrugged and stared down at her half eaten dinner. "I don't know."

Teo sighed. "I saw you both on the balcony earlier today. Where did you guys go after that?" He thought that he would take a different route and try to retrace her steps.

"I don't know…"

Her lack of knowledge was frustrating. He took a deep breath to remain calm. "Did something happen?"

Emi sniffled in reply. Oh Spirits, was she crying? Teo wheeled closer to her. "What happened?"

"I… I think I upset her." He had gathered that much. "She said she wanted to be alone."

"Thanks," he said and pushed his way towards the buffet table. He grabbed a dinner roll and continued out of the room.

It seemed logical to check her room first, though he doubted that she would be there. After confirming his suspicion, he decided to fly around the temple in the hopes that she would be outside rather than inside. If she was inside, it could be impossible to find her.

On a whim he decided to fly over the garden and, to his luck, found her there, sitting among the white lotus blossoms again. He pondered the best possible way to land that would alert her of his presence at the last moment. There was a strip of grass behind her. The garden caretaker would be upset if it was ruined, but it was the best chance that he had. He would find a way to make up for the damage later.

Dirt and grass sprayed up all around him as the glider slid to a stop. It caused enough of a distraction to apparently keep Toph from recognizing his glider. She jumped to her feet and went instinctively into a fighting stance. Teo only had a brief moment for her senses to register what had caused the disturbance. As soon as he began to roll towards her, he watched as her eyes went wide with recognition. There were only a few feet between them. She spun around on her heal, prepared to run, but he managed to catch her wrist into a firm grip at the last second.

"Please don't run away," he pleaded. "Just hear me out."

"I don't want to talk to you! Leave me alone!" The earth rumbled and Teo's chair shook as the earth beneath him rose up to trap around his wheels. Before she could earthbend more he yanked her onto his lap. With her feet off of the ground the earth became calm again.

Teo wrapped a firm hold around her waist. His strength surprised her as she struggled to be free. "Let go of me!" Her words were laced with venom and she pushed against his chest.

"No!" he spoke firmly and tightened his grip. She was actually pretty light and without earthbending force her attempts to free herself came to no avail. "Just listen to me. Please?" His voice was calm and soothing.

Toph stopped struggling with a huff and crossed her arms. "What do you want?"

Teo let out a sigh of relief. "I'm sorry if I upset you."

"You didn't upset me!" Toph stared blindly out across the garden and whispered, "You confuse me. I… I'm confused when I'm around you."

She felt Teo nod. "I'm sorry; I won't push the matter again. I know that you like Sokka." Her head jerked around to stare towards him. "I've known since the time we spent at the Western Air Temple." She looked away and stared towards the ground. "I'll wait…"

"Wait for what?" She cut him off.

"Until you see that he's not the one…"

Toph smirked. "And what if he is."

"Then I'll happily remain your friend."

The wind rustled through the trees during their moment of silence. Heat slowly rose into her cheeks as she became increasingly aware of his body. His legs may have been useless, but the strength in his arms sent her heart to flutter. Not even Sokka had ever held her this firmly. "C…could you put me down… please?" she asked weakly. He was confusing her again. "I promise that I won't run."

Teo relaxed his hold and she slid off of his lap. When her legs seemed to wobble he held out a hand to steady her. He watched as she reacquainted herself with the earth and grounded. "Friends?" he asked, after a moment.

She nodded before turning back towards him. He really wasn't a bad guy. "Friends" she smiled and held her hand out to shake on it.

* * *

**A/N 2:** Yes, there is more to come! This IS NOT the end.

So I'm really loving this fic!

Hmmm... I don't really have much to say, I guess. I've received 2 suggestions so far. I'm still brainstorming on them. Thanks so much! If anyone else has any suggestions, feel free to request it.


	6. The Earth & Sky

**Where Earth Meets Sky:**

_Chapter 6: The Earth & Sky_

* * *

**Author Note:** Okay, I'm sorry for the wait, everyone. I had some difficulties with the ending of this chapter. So...I hope the ending turned out okay. It's a lot better then it was originally. I had Adam proofread it for me and he said that the ending was lacking, that it was like I had more to say. I didn't remember what that was, if there was anything at all, so, here's hoping that it has turned out.

Also, special thanks for my personal friend, _AdonciasDreams,_ in **DeviantArt,** for proofreading this chapter for me and fixing a few things that were a bit awkward.

Chapter 7 is mostly finished. I just need to rewrite the ending of it. shouldn't take TOO long... but, of course, I do have homework...

**Disclaimer:** These characters and the setting do not belong to me! They are the property of Mike & Bryan! Only the ideas for this fic are my own. oh, and Milo, Yuki, & Emi...

* * *

"You're late, wake up! What am I supposed to do with this mop?" Toph pounded on Emi's door the next morning. Teo had told her about how she was acting at dinner the night before. She remembered how scared the girl was on the first day that they met. Emi was the sensitive type and evidently feared Toph's reaction to her teasing. She could feel Emi's racing heartbeat on the other side of the door. "If you don't come out of there, I swear I'll cut it off!"

Emi's door cracked open at the threat and she peeked out with wide chestnut colored eyes.

"Well it's about time!" Toph's hands were on her hips. "Come on, I'm hungry."

Emi opened the door further to let her in. "Y… You mean… You're not mad?"

Toph waved her question away. "I really will cut it off." Of course, she was talking about her hair.

"Don't you dare!" Emi grabbed for Toph's hand and pulled her over to the vanity table where she set to the task of braiding her hair down her back.

Teo was waiting for them when they arrived at the dining hall. "What took so long? I'm starving!" He complained in jest.

"Oh, you know, Princess here lost her brush." Toph pulled Emi into the room with Teo at their heels.

From that moment – on, the three shared their meals together. Soon Milo and Yuki joined the group as well. In the weeks that followed, the group aided with the restoration of the temple. On their free time, Emi was assimilated into the gliders. It was something that she had always been too afraid to try, but her new found friends gave her courage.

Toph had been at the Northern Air Temple for about a Month. Everyone was enjoying a flight when Teo spotted her sitting on a stone that she had earthbended into existence. He landed and approached her, feeling a little guilty that everyone was having fun without her. "What do you say? Want a lift?"

"What?" She had been lost in her thoughts about a suggestion she planned to make for the temple's renovations.

"Come on, let's go." Teo took hold of her hand and tugged slightly.

She resisted against him. "No way, Hotshot! I'll stay right here with my feet firmly planted on the ground." The funny thing was that her feet weren't even touching the ground.

"Fine with me," Teo gave another tug, until she slid off of the stone. "You walk, I'll roll." He relished the grin that appeared on her face.

They walked for a bit in silence. Toph followed his lead. At one point she stopped to pick up a hermit crab. Teo watched in awe as she giggled at the tickling sensation that the creature gave when it walked over her palm. He was certain that it was a rare moment to witness.

"So, what's there to do around this place besides work, fly, and play with crabs?"

Teo blinked out of his reverie and thought about the question. "Well, what do you think about books?"

Toph shrugged. "What's there to think about? I'm blind."

Teo smirked in amusement. "Come on." He spun his glider around to lead her back into the direction from which they had come.

They arrived at a huge room in the center of the main tower. The ceiling was vaulted and the walls, extending up for two stories, were lined with book shelves. A balcony ran around the edge of the second story to allow accessibility to the higher shelves. It could be reached on an airlift or with a ladder. Teo led her to a table on the main floor.

"What kind of stories do you like?"

Toph raised an eyebrow, wondering if his brain had been blown through his ears while he was soaring through the sky.

"I'll read it to you." Toph felt him wheel away. "Give me a genre and I'll pick something out." Now he was over by an airlift.

Toph shrugged; books weren't a big part of her life. "I don't know… Mythology?" She heard the airlift carry him up to the second level; a book slid off a shelf, pages rustled, and it was placed back. This process repeated over and over a few times. Finally she heard the lift bring him back down to the main level and felt him roll back towards her.

"This should do, it's called "Where the Earth Met the Sky," sounds appropriate, doesn't it?" Teo chuckled and opened the book. Toph quirked a brow, wondering what he was talking about. Pages rustled again. "Ready?"

Toph gestured for him to continue and leaned back into her chair.

"_In the beginning there was only the Earth and Sky. The Earth was flat and barren. The Sky was still and unreachable. When the Earth was lonely, she would stare up at the sky and yearn to talk with him. The Sky looked upon the Earth daily and was curious to know her._

"_Then one day the Sky created the first wind to send her a message. Earth pushed herself up to retrieve it, forming the first mountain. When they met, their first kiss became the flowing waters that would nourish her fallow lands and the passion between them would spark the first flame that, to this day, illuminates the wonders of the universe."_

Silence echoed through the library, indicating that Teo had finished reading. As her cheeks burned with a blush, Toph wondered exactly what he found so appropriate about the story.

"It's a creation myth," Teo broke the silence, "About how the four elements came into being." He was merely making an observation.

"Yeah… Fascinating…" All of this talk about first kisses and burning passion was making her uncomfortable. She imagined what her first kiss would be like, but it wasn't Sokka who gave it to her - she didn't recognize the form of the person in her mind. "I'm hungry, is it dinner time yet?"

The ever seeming, bottomless pit that was her stomach made him laugh. She was always hungry, yet no matter how much she ate, she remained petite. "Probably," he judged the time based off of the shadows in the room. "Let me just put this away." He rolled away to return the book to its rightful place. When he returned, she followed him out of the library.

"Where have you two been?" Emi asked when they entered the dining hall.

"Needed some alone time?" Milo teased, only to receive an elbow in the side from Yuki. "Ow… What?"

"We were in the library." Teo explained before anyone could insinuate more. "We found this really interesting myth about how the elements were created."

Teo followed Toph to the buffet table, noting the slight flush of her cheeks. She returned to the table first and pushed her way in to sit between Emi and Yuki, forcing both girls to make room for her. Teo sat at the end of the table on the other side of Milo.

"So, what's this so called myth about?" Milo asked skeptically.

Teo proceeded in reciting the tale.

"You call that a creation myth? It sounds more to me like… Ow!" He was cut off again by a slap in the arm by Yuki. "Hey! Why do you keep hitting me?"

"Because you're talking about unnecessary things!" she hissed at him. Yuki and Emi had noticed Toph's change in posture; she was stiff and eating faster than normal.

"Toph? You okay?" Emi put a hand on her shoulder.

Toph had stuffed her mouth too full. She pounded on her chest and swallowed hard to force the food down her throat. She had just finished an entire plate of food in record time. "Yup," she nodded before jumping out of her seat. "Got to go, I have something that I'd like to talk to the Mechanist about." She then rushed out of the door, leaving everyone to stare after her in wonder.

Both Yuki and Emi turned on Teo together. "What did you do to her?" They asked with suspicion.

Teo's eyes widened and he held his hands up defensively in front of him. "I didn't do anything, I swear!"

"Wasn't that myth something that we were taught during our lessons last year sometime?" Milo ignored the girls on the other side of him and picked through his memories.

* * *

Once she was out in the hall, Toph slowed her pace and walked absented mindedly towards her room. She didn't understand why the myth was affecting her so much, or why she was thinking about Teo in ways that she should be thinking about Sokka. She had been going over the vision that she had previously seen of her first kiss. Sokka wasn't the one giving it to her. At first, she didn't recognize the form of the person who was, but then she remembered that first day in the garden, when Teo lowered himself out of his glider to sit on the ground beside her. It had been her first time truly seeing him.

* * *

**Author Note 2:** I AM really impressed with this chapter though, with the creation myth that I created. Yes, I created it. I took my knowledge of my own beliefs and what I have learned in **Daoshadru** about _"Mother Earth"_ and _"Father Sky"_ to come up with it, so really, most of the credit for it should probably go to Sifu.


	7. Going Down the Drain

**Where Earth Meets Sky:**

_Chapter 7: Going down the drain_

* * *

**Author Note:** *LOL* I couldn't think of a better title for this chapter. I know, it's corny...^_^

Anyway, I'm sorry for taking so long to get this up. This chapter was really difficult. I ended up having to rewrite the ending because of engineering issues.

I know what I want to write for Ch. 8, I just need to get around to writing it. Unfortunately I have homework that I need to catch up on. But please look forward to it. I promise it'll be good.

**Disclaimer:** These characters and the setting do not belong to me! They are the property of Mike & Bryan! Only the ideas for this fic are my own. oh, and Milo, Yuki, & Emi...

* * *

The steam pipes that worked the airlifts still littered the temple. The Mechanist's original plans were to reroute them for more efficient use. He had managed to reduce their numbers, but those that remained were still an eyesore to the beauty of the temple. It was Toph's idea to run the pipes inside of the walls or underground. It took a month for her to execute this plan.

It had been two months since she came to the Northern Air Temple, and Toph was preparing for what would be the most painstaking renovation project of them all. The water drain of the bath house needed to be rerouted and would be done by taking it down into and then off of the side of the mountain. This project would require delicate precision so as not to cause a sink hole, or worse, a part of the mountain to collapse. Toph was confident in her abilities as an earthbender; seeing the faults in the earth was what she did best. However, the Mechanist wanted to make out his own set of plans and expert calculations for his own peace of mind - this took another two weeks to be done.

"How exactly do you expect me to follow these plans of yours? Did you forget the crucial fact that… I'm blind?" Toph's chair rocked on its back legs with her feet propped on his desk. "You do realize that I can read the earth and know better than your calculations where it is most appropriate to dig, right?" She folded her hands behind her head and stared up at the ceiling.

"That may be true my dear, but how deep into the earth are you able to see?"

Toph pondered this for a moment. She really hadn't ever thought about it before. She nodded as his need for making a plan began to make some sense. "But that doesn't explain how I'm going to follow your plan, it's not like I can read it, and you have to remain up here to oversee things at the bathhouse.

"I can do it." Toph had nearly forgotten that Teo was there. His chair had remained so still that it faded into the background along with all of the other junk that was in the room.

She looked in the direction from where his voice had come. "Do what, Hotshot?"

"I can read dad's plans for you." He wheeled his chair closer to his father.

The Mechanist finished marking a few things on the paper before acknowledging his son's comment. "Hmmm… That could work."

"What?" Toph shrieked as her chair suddenly tipped back, sending her sprawling on the floor. "Owww…"

Teo spun his chair around and was at her side before his father had a chance to stand up. "Are you okay?"

"Does it look like I'm okay?" Toph asked as she rolled to her side, off of the chair.

Teo reached down for her hand. "Well, you're not bleeding, but you can't always tell if someone is okay by outward appearances."

She glared up towards his voice. After such a comment she was tempted to pull her hand out of his. She didn't need his help to stand up. The hint of concern and the tenderness in his voice made her think again. Anyone else – namely Sokka – would have been rolling around on the floor laughing at her expense. Heat rose to her cheeks as she accepted his help to stand.

As soon as she was back to her feet Toph regained her composure and turned towards the Mechanist. "No way, it's out of the question."

"Why?" Teo asked. All previous hints of gentleness evaporated from his tone.

"Just how are we supposed to get you down the main tunnel?" Toph spun back around to face in Teo's direction.

"My chair can be lowered down with a harness."

"Oh, right…" Toph rolled her eyes. "And what if something goes wrong? You do realize that you will be going underground, don't you? This isn't the open sky we're talking about." Toph's logic was affected by her personal bias. She hated being in the air, so it seemed obvious to her that he would hate being in the ground.

"What could go wrong? Are you saying that you don't trust my father's calculations?" His unconditional trust caught her by surprise. She opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out.

"Now, now…." The Mechanist said with a soothing tone and got up to move towards them. "I wouldn't trust anyone else to accurately read my plans, Toph. I have taught my son everything I know."

"But…" Toph tried to argue. If only Sokka were here, he could read the plans for her.

"Toph, dear, there really isn't any other way." The mechanist tried to reason with her.

"Besides, I trust you to know what you're doing down there, so I have nothing to worry about," Teo lightly touched her arm. His comment made her blush and she quickly turned away from him.

"Whatever…" She picked up her seat and sat down on it backwards, hugging the back of the chair. She felt Teo roll back to his father's desk, and together they discussed the plans.

An hour passed, during which time Toph dozed off. When he and his father were finished, Teo rolled over to Toph's chair while his father went to gather a few things at the other end of the room.

Toph's arms were crossed on the back of her chair, and her head rested into their comfortable folds. Teo reached up with a gentle touch to brush her bangs away from her face. His heart skipped a beat as he viewed her pretty features. A tiny moan escaped her lips as she fought with consciousness, bringing a smile to his face. "Wakie wakie," he spoke barely above a whisper while tracing a finger down her cheek.

Something warm, semi-soft, and dry ran down her cheek. Toph's eyes snapped open. She didn't feel any other heartbeat aside for hers and the Mechanist's - who was across the room. Did a bug just crawl over her face? Toph swept at her cheek, though the warmth was already gone, in a panic and tumbled backwards off of the chair. As soon as she heard Teo's laugh, she knew what had happened.

"You just can't seem to stay in that chair today, can you?" Teo wasn't complaining, he eagerly reached out a hand to help her up. Toph glared up towards his voice, when his hand touched her arm she swatted it away and scrambled to her feet by herself. Teo continued to smile, amused by her reaction. "You ready to go?"

The Mechanist returned to their side, carrying rope and a wide strip of leather. He had previously made a harness that was used by the construction crews to lift large objects, such as bricks or pipes, which were needed for repairs that needed to be done around the temple before Toph's arrival. The leather strip had been reinforced to lift up to two hundred pounds. Even with his chair, Teo's weight didn't come close to that.

The trio headed towards the bathhouse, where Toph would begin the excavation for the new drain. Milo and Yuki joined them along the way. The Mechanist handed Milo the approximate calculations as to where the drain would come out and charged him with getting Teo's glider down to the cliff side and wait for them there. Milo was the only other person who knew how to operate Teo's glider – being the one who test flew the design.

The Mechanist prepared the harness, secured Teo's wheelchair and hooked it up to the crane, which would be used to lower in down the drain tunnel after Toph. Meanwhile, Toph started to burrow down into the mountain at the point that the Mechanist had marked. After a few yards she stopped to make her own assessment of the faults of the earth.

"How's everything going down there?" The Mechanist called down after her.

"Looks good. How about up there? You're sure that harness is going to hold him? I still don't like this idea."

"My life is in your hands," Teo's responded. By the sound of his voice and the occasional clicking sound of the crane he was being lowered into the tunnel.

"Oh sure, Hotshot, no pressure or anything." Toph smirked and continued the path below her.

Teo chuckled, "Now you know how I feel."

Toph frowned and concentrated on the task at hand. This project was meticulously slow. She continually double checked the faults. If something collapsed or caved in around them, she could always protect herself. However, Teo's chair occasionally bumping against the tunnel wall was her only indication as to his position. It was too vague for her to effectively protect him, if anything were to happen. "Actually, I'm not sure that I do."

"Oh, you know… being trusted that you know what you're doing in your natural element?"

Toph was only half paying attention to what he was talking about. There was a fault directly below her that she was going to have to go around.

"Hey, what are you doing? You're going off course."

"What was that about trust?" She could hear the rustling of paper above her.

"It's not that I don't trust your judgment, but this may cause a problem. We only have about fifty feet of rope left, and with your detour it is going to make us about ten feet short before we reach the point where we need to angle off from the drop."

"Oh…" She hadn't thought about that. Right how she was just worried about getting him safely through the tunnel. At the end of the rope, she was supposed to start moving at a gradual angle towards the mountain side. "Well, I guess I'm just going to have to earthbend a platform for your chair."

Teo stopped working on the new set of calculations to think about what she said. "I suppose that will work."

"It'll just slow us down a little," she complained out loud and focused to bringing them back around to the original path.

Teo alerted her when they were about to reach the end of the rope, and she slid a flat platform of stone out from the tunnel wall, where he settled his wheelchair and worked on detaching the harness. He removed the lantern from where it hung on the rope and moved it to see into the darkness below him. He swallowed back the nervous knot that tried to rise into his throat. Up until now, the darkness hadn't affected him much, but the sudden realization that he was one hundred and forty feet underground with the tiny earthbender before him as his only means of seeing the sky again, made him understand how she must feel when he flew with her on his glider.

"Okay, Hotshot, before I get yelled at for going off course again, there is another fault right in our path."

"I never yelled at you, Toph. I was just worried about altering the calculations."

Toph shrugged. "Whatever. The fault is four feet below us. We're going to have to start the angle sooner. Think you can handle that?" She heard the plans rustle again as he unrolled them. While he worked the calculations she did another assessment of the shaft above them.

"Okay," Teo announced when he was finished. "You may as well start the gradual slope here. We'll have to adjust the angle some to ensure that we come out on the cliff according to plan."

Toph nodded and began to shape out the curve of the slope. In order for the water from the bathhouse to drain properly, the development of this section was crucial. Teo instructed her as to where she needed to bend the earth. Soon they were on their way, now traveling downward at an angle. Toph's attention was split between double checking the fault lines, continuing the tunnel forward, and earthbending Teo's chair forward. To keep his chair from rolling down the slope of its own accord, Toph had trapped the wheels in the earth to save his brakes from burning or breaking.

With a sigh, Toph wiped the sweat from her forehead before moving Teo forward again. Though his calculations had been necessary, Toph was at the point of feeling that it was more trouble than it was worth to have him there. She found herself wishing, again, that Sokka had been there to help her. His plans never went wrong and she heard tales of how he had helped the Mechanist with the design of the airships. Surely that made him smarter than Teo.

Toph became distracted by her thoughts and forgot to double check the faults. She stopped mid-punch before hitting the tunnel wall when she felt the slightest vibrations. Her eyes widened in horror as she realized what was happening. She had hit a fault that she had missed. They would soon be buried under an avalanche of stone. Her mind quickly calculated her odds of survival – nothing to it, but then there was Teo. Panic overtook her senses and she released the earthen hold on his wheels. He stared at her in shock, not yet able to feel the vibrations in the earth, as he sped towards her. "Break, now!"

In the next second a sound like thunder came from the tunnel above them. Teo wasted no time in pulling his brakes; they burned in the attempt to stop, but he still collided with Toph at the same moment that she managed to earthbend a pocket of stone around them for protection. The tunnel collapsed behind them, not far from where Teo's chair had been.

Darkness surrounded them; the lantern lost during Teo's race to safety. "T… Toph?" He felt around beside his chair, searching for her. Was she alright? He had run headlong into her. "Toph, where are you?" There was a moan a couple feet away, to his right. "Toph!" He was starting to panic. She moaned again. There was the sound of stone moving and another moan. "Toph, what's wrong?" Her response was silence. The darkness was beginning to feel heavy around him and he rolled his chair forward. "Toph!"

"Stop yelling," she finally groaned.

Teo let out a heavy sigh of relief. She was conscious, at least. "Are you okay?"

"Fine," she answered abruptly. Judging from what she could sense, they were about a hundred feet from the Cliffside. She could feel Milo and Yuki there waiting, if she concentrated hard enough. She had to get them out of there quickly. She did a quick check of the faults and found one about ten feet in front of them. She moved under it by using a sloping stair step pattern that would allow her to earthbend Teo's chair to a landing where she didn't have to concentrate on keeping the earthen hold on the wheels of his chair. She could feel herself getting weaker and needed to focus her full attention on moving them forward. Thankfully Teo had enough sense to stop talking – she was ignoring whatever he was saying anyway.

After what seemed like forever, but what was probably only about ten minutes, Toph punched an arm forward one last time and sunlight flooded in around them. Grateful to be able to see again, Teo rolled himself forward. Milo appeared at the entrance of the tunnel. They made eye contact before both looking towards the blind earthbender.

Toph stumbled forward, gripping at the arm that hung loosely at her side. She had made it, Teo was safe, and her job was done. Her arm throbbed with unmerciful pain and blood dripped from her fingertips. She barely heard their voices as the guys rushed towards her. Her head felt like it was spinning and then she was falling. Someone caught her before she hit the ground, it was Teo. He was cradling her in his lap and saying something but his voice sounded very far away and soon she couldn't hear it at all.


	8. Unexpected Arrival

**Where Earth Meets Sky:**

_Chapter 8: Unexpected Arrival_

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**Author Note:** Honto ni gomen nasai, minna-san! I'm very very sorry that it took so long to get this chapter up. Please, no one kill me for leaving you off, in Ch. 7, with such a major cliffhanger.

**Warning:** Updates may slow down. I start my next college term in on Wednesday, September 22nd. Unfortunately, I have to take a full time loud...so I'm going to have to really work on my time management. I'll try to update at least every 2 weeks, though...sooner if I am able to work it into my schedule. I'm not sure how bad my classes will be, yet.

Again, I apologize for the wait. I hope that this chapter lived up to everyone's expectations.

**Disclaimer:** These characters and the setting do not belong to me! They are the property of Mike & Bryan! :love: Only the ideas for this fic are my own. oh, and Milo, Yuki, & Emi...

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Teo stared down at the still form in his lap with horror stricken eyes. He called her name over and over again in panic, trying to get some kind of a response.

"She's passed out," Milo observed. He bent to carefully pick her up, but Teo hugged her tightly. "We have to get her back to the temple, Teo. Snap out of it and get into your glider!" Teo's wide eyes blinked and stared at his friend for a moment in shock. "Look, I'll give her back to you as soon as you're in your glider."

Reluctantly, Teo let Milo take her from him. Yuki parked the glider at his side; he swung himself into it with ease and lifted his useless legs into position. Milo didn't waste any time in setting Toph back onto his lap and securing her into place. Being extra careful with her arm, he ripped a piece of his tunic to wrap it.

"I'll go on ahead to alert everyone," Yuki snapped her glider open and jumped off of the cliff to catch an updraft back up to the temple.

"She's alright – she's just exhausted." Teo sounded like he was trying to convince himself of the fact. "She pushed herself too far." His heart pounded with ferocity. For the first time since the flood he cursed his useless legs. Milo pushed his glider forward. Teo kissed the top of her head, before the glider lifted into the air, and whispered, "Don't worry, I've got ya."

It took less than five minutes to get back to the temple, but to Teo it felt like an eternity. He landed the glider as smoothly as he could and found himself completely surrounded before he came to a full stop. Someone detached the wings of the glider and carried them away. "What happened?" his father asked in a rush. Emi was fussing over Toph, checking her vital signs. The Mechanist checked his son over for any signs of injury. "Yuki should be here with the doctor, soon."

"I'm fine, Dad!" Teo swatted his father's hands away. "Worry about Toph, she's the one who is hurt!"

"What happened?" The Mechanist repeated.

"It collapsed," Teo answered before turning his attention to Emi. "She's okay, right?" He wrapped an arm protectively around Toph's waist, being careful of her arm.

"Her pulse is a little weak, but she is breathing normally," Emi glanced at the broken arm and the stream of dried blood. "I can't say for certain. We have to get her to the doctor."

Teo didn't need to be told again. He pushed his glider towards the entrance of the medical wing. The doctor met him half way there and began a quick evaluation of Toph's condition. "She should be fine, but she needs a more thorough examination before I can be sure. I need you to tell me exactly what happened."

Teo nodded and followed the doctor into the hall, explaining what he could along the way. Everything had happened so fast, though, and he hadn't been able to see a thing after the lantern was lost.

"How long did it take her to get you both out?" The doctor's stride was long, but Teo had no problem keeping up. Their small group trailed behind them. Emi had to sprint every few feet to keep pace.

"I… I'm not sure. It felt like forever,"

"From the time that we felt the collapse, it was about ten minutes before she opened the drain escape." Milo's long legs were ideal for keeping pace on Teo's other side.

The medical wing was on the ground floor, in close proximity to the landing strip. Toph was moved to an empty bed and the doctor set to work. Emi rushed to get a basin of water and clean bandages. Teo pulled up on the other side of her bed, unwilling to leave her side – the doctor made it clear that his presence would be tolerated as long as he remained out of the way. Milo and Yuki looked on from their position against the far wall. No one noticed that the Mechanist wasn't present.

After the doctor's examination revealed no life threatening injuries, he reset her broken arm without delay. Thankfully the bone hadn't broken the skin; the blood came from a gash on her shoulder. While the doctor worked on making a splint, Emi cleaned the dried blood from the wound; it would need stitches.

Teo held the hand of Toph's unbroken arm and reached with his free hand to brush her unruly bangs to the side – he liked to see her face. Thankfully she was sound asleep.

"Toph?" A familiar voice spoke her name in disbelief, causing Teo to snap his head around to look towards the door in shock. Katara brushed past his father and ran to the doctor's side. "Oh my spirits, what happened?" It was more of a demand than a question.

"You guys have impeccable timing." The Mechanist stepped through the doorway, followed by Aang, Sokka, & Haru. "I just happened to see the flying bison before following everyone into the temple."

"We came to discuss some plans with your father," Aang answered Teo's questioning look. "We had no idea that Toph was here, too."

Katara wasted no time in wielding the glove of water. The doctor stepped aside to allow room for her to work. She immediately did an internal assessment of Toph's condition. "I asked what happened!" Her demand was more forceful and she glared at the first person who just happened to be in her line of sight.

Teo looked down, away from her burning sapphire eyes. "She protected me." He paused to swallow his guilt. "If it hadn't been for me, she wouldn't have gotten hurt."

The room fell silent and everyone stared in surprise at the uncharacteristic sound of Teo's voice. Katara and Sokka exchanged a quick glance of silent communication. "There are too many people in here, I can't work like this. Everyone who doesn't need to be here, out!" Katara pointed towards the door and stared back and forth between Sokka, Aang, Haru, and Teo.

"Come on," Haru placed a hand on his friend's shoulder. "She's in good hands."

Teo let out a heavy sigh before leaving Toph's hand to rest on the bed beside her. He turned his chair and followed Milo and Yuki out of the room. Aang, Sokka, and Haru were close behind.

"What happened?" Aang was the first to verbalize the question that everyone wanted to ask. Milo and Yuki walked ahead of the group, down the hall. Teo found himself surrounded by the Avatar, one of his best friends, and his crush's love interest. He really didn't feel like talking about this again. It made him angry that he had been so useless in helping her. What did he expect? She had warned him that something could happen, but he had put his full trust in his father's calculations and ignored the fact that she could read the earth. He had insisted on going, despite her protest. If he hadn't been down there, she wouldn't have had to concentrate so hard on protecting him and probably would have been just fine protecting herself.

Teo was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't notice when his chair stopped moving. He pushed his wheels as he normally would to continue forward but found that they wouldn't move. When his eyes came into focus, he found a pair of inquiring green eyes staring at him. Haru was standing in front of him, bending forward with a hand on either arm of the glider.

They hadn't known each other for long, but they had formed a close friendship during their time together at the Western Air Temple. Haru had learned enough about him to know that something, beyond the obvious, wasn't right. Teo shook his head in response to the silent question that Haru asked. "I really don't want to talk about it right now. You guys can get most of the details from my father. You're an earthbender," Teo nodded towards his friend. "Dad could probably use your assistance.

Haru released the glider, straightened his position and nodded in understanding. He didn't want to push the issue. Teo would talk about it when he was ready.

"I'm sure that I could help too, then." Aang's eager voice added to the conversation. "Why don't we both go to find the Mechanist." Haru nodded. "What about you, Sokka? After all, you and the Mechanist have worked together before."

"You two go on ahead." Aang glanced at Sokka, curious about his answer. Sokka gave a subtle nod towards Teo. Aang's eyebrow rose in confusion. "I'll catch up." Sokka pushed Teo's glider forward, away from the other two.

"What are you doing?" Teo complained, annoyed that he didn't have complete control over his chair.

"Just thought we'd have a little chat." Sokka continued to push the glider forward until he was sure they were far enough away from the others.

Teo took a deep breath; it was obvious that he wasn't getting out of this. "Look, all I know is that one minute she was digging out the bath house drain and the next minute I was rolling towards her down the drain slope at an alarming speed - I wasn't able to keep from colliding into her. Then we were surrounded by a dome of rock and everything went pitch black."

Sokka was now standing beside the glider. His arms where crossed and he wore his typical thoughtful expression as he stroked at his chin. He hadn't asked what had happened, that wasn't important to him; he had other things in mind that he wanted to discuss, but he listened anyway. "I see." Sokka nodded and there was a brief pause. "So, how long has Toph been here?"

Teo was surprised by the question. "Since the day the two of you split up. I found here sleeping on the mountain side and brought her to the Temple. She's been here ever since, helping Dad with the renovations…"

"Really?" Sokka hummed and considered how long that meant that Toph had stayed in one place of her own accord. "Well, I'm glad that she's been here with you this whole time, then." He dropped his arms with an approving nod.

"Oh?" Teo gave him a sidewise glance, unsure of how to take the statement.

"It means that she has stayed out of trouble and that maybe, just maybe, she's been away from me long enough to see that I'm not the one for her." Teo's head snapped to the side and stared in shock. Sokka knew about Toph's feelings? Seeing his reaction, Sokka chuckled. "Toph is like another little sister to me. Unfortunately, I've been a little too over protective of her. "

"Is that why she was so mad at you?" Teo tilted his head to the side and smirked.

Sokka shrugged, "It's part of the reason, I think." He really wasn't sure.

"So, then, you don't like her or anything? You know… as more?"

"Not in the way you're thinking. Why, do you?" Sokka teased with a knowing smile. Teo quickly looked away. "I think it's a good thing, if you are able to get through her defenses." Sokka resumed his contemplative position and rubbed his chin. "But if you don't treat her right, you'll have to deal with me."

Teo humphed and couldn't keep from grinning. "I think I should worry more about what she would do to me."

"Well, that's true." They both laughed, but Sokka quickly became serious again. "All jokes aside, what happened isn't your fault. Toph protected you because she wanted to. That's just how she is. Beneath her rock-hard outer shell, she is really very caring to those people that she lets get close to her."

Teo sobered with a sigh and nodded, "I know."

"Don't worry; Katara will have her fixed up, good as new, in no time."


	9. Laid To Rest

**Where Earth Meets Sky:**

_Chapter 9: Laid To Rest_

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**Author Note:** Phew, I was able to make an update! While my classes aren't really all **THAT** difficult, having a full time load again is a lot of work. :iconsighingplz: I'm behind on my work... or at least, I'm going to be. There's no way that I can finish everything that I have to get done by tomorrow night.

Anyway, please let me know what you think of the chapter. Also, I'd like some feedback about how you might hope Ch. 10 will go. I've debating between a few ideas, but I'd like to hear what my readers might hope to see (or what they don't want to see.)

Thank you, Leona629 for looking this over, and Thank you, SelendrileDragoon (From DeviantArt) for helping me to revise the first paragraph. You two are the best Beta's a girl could ask for!

**Disclaimer:** These characters and the setting do not belong to me! They are the property of Mike & Bryan! Only the ideas for this fic are my own. Oh, and Milo, Yuki, & Emi...

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The vibrations of the mountain erupted throughout her body. She needed to do something or he would die. It'd be her fault; she had let her mind wander. Still too far away from the cliff. She heard the rumbling - there wasn't enough time. Panicked, she released his chair. He rolled forward, colliding into her while the tunnel collapsed around them.

Toph bolted upright. Her senses were suppressed by her blindness. She felt nauseous with fear; believing that they were still trapped inside of the mountain; that he was dead.

"Whoa, Toph, you're okay." She felt his hands on her shoulders and stared into the direction of his voice in disbelief.

"S… Sokka?"

"That's Snoozles to you," he scolded.

"Wh… What are you doing here?" Toph became aware of the bed beneath her. "What am _I _doing here? Wait, where am I?" Toph attempted to stand to get her bearings, but Sokka's hands remained firmly on her shoulders. She attempted to swat him away only to find that one of her arms wasn't working; it hung loosely against her chest, in a sling. What was going on? What happened?

The mountain, the drain, the collapse, it all came flooding back. "Teo! Where's Teo? Is he alright?" She grabbed Sokka's tunic with her good hand and pulled him down towards her.

"He's fine, he's fine," Sokka answered and glanced over her shoulder for some assistance.

A tentative hand reached across the bed to touch her good arm. "Toph."

Toph snapped her head in his direction and relief washed over her face. She kicked Sokka away, knocking him a few feet from the bed, and leapt towards Teo's voice. At least, that's how it appeared as she moved with awkward haste – and the use of only one arm – to verify that he was there. "Teo!" She cried his name uncharacteristically and fell into his lap when her good hand slipped off of the edge of her bed; inertia propelling her forward. "You're okay! I mean, you _are_ okay, right?"

Teo squeezed her with a gentle hug. "Yes, thanks to you."

Toph was lying partly on her bed and partly against his chest; she could feel the beat of his heart under her palm. It was strong, steady, and just a bit faster than normal - he was alive!

Sokka watched with amusement and realized that more had happened between them then he had thought. He cleared his throat as a reminder that they were not alone.

Toph became stiff at the sound and aware of how she was acting – in front of Sokka. She struggled to push away, but didn't have the strength with only one arm to reposition herself onto the bed. "I'm glad that you weren't hurt." She spoke in her normal tone, carefully masked of emotion, and tried to ignore her racing heartbeat and the burning sensation of her cheeks. The situation had become very uncomfortable. Why did Sokka have to be here? Wait – what was she thinking? Sokka was the one that she liked, right? Teo was just a friend.

Teo met Sokka's eyes when the older boy lifted her back onto the bed. Sokka gave him a reassuring nod before turning his attention to Toph. "Careful, we don't want you to break your other arm, too. Katara would kill me."

"Katara's here?" Toph's voice was a mixture of shock and curiosity.

Sokka nodded, despite the fact that she couldn't see it. "So is Aang."

"And Suki?"

"Nah, Haru came instead.

Toph blinked her blind eyes in surprise. "Haru?"

"Yeah."

"Oh…"

Teo took that as his cue to leave. Things were getting weird – you could cut the tension in the air. Toph was clearly struggling with her feelings; the person she liked the most was sitting on the edge of her bed. "I'll go let Katara know that Toph's awake." He excused himself and pushed his chair around the bed, towards the door.

"He really seems to care about you," Sokka said when Teo was out of the room.

"Who?"

"Teo, of course; he's been by your side this whole time. Well, except for when Katara kicked us all out of the room."

Toph didn't respond; she wasn't sure what to say. There was a moment of silence before she changed the subject. "So, why didn't Suki come with you?"

"She's taking care of some things in Kyoshi. We'll pick her up when we're done here."

"Oh… So, why are you here, then?"

"To speak with the Mechanist: We were also looking for you, but finding you here has killed two buzzard wasps with one stone."

Her curiosity peeked and she tilted her head to the side. "What's going on?"

Sokka ruffled her hair, which hung loosely around her shoulders. "Don't worry about it for now. It'll be easier to explain things to both of you only once." Sokka reached for the pitcher of water and the empty glass that sat on her bedside table. "You thirsty?" He filled the glass and handed it to her. "You know that it's okay, don't you?" He was trying to redirect them back to their original topic.

"What is?" She asked before taking a drink.

"If you like Teo."

Toph spit her mouthful of water across the bed. "What? It's not like that!"

Sokka eyed the wet spot beside him. "Then what's it like?" She was being very contradictive at the moment. There was a long pause, after which he didn't think that she would answer.

"I… like you…" She finally spoke in a whisper. Her face was tilted downward and was covered by her bangs. Though he already suspected this, he hadn't expected that she would admit to it. There wasn't any way around his answer. She would be hurt – maybe even angry – but he was certain, after watching the scene from earlier, that she would realize who her true feelings were for.

"I like you too, Toph; just not in that way." He ruffled her hair again, in the hopes to lighten the mood. "You're like a little sister to me."

Sokka wasn't sure what to expect, but he didn't expect her to start laughing. "Yeah… It's probably a good thing, huh? The way you and Suki are always all over each other would drive me nuts." It was meant to be a joke – an insult to her independence, but it came out sounding bitter. She continued to laugh and he wondered if she hadn't lost her mind. Rejection was difficult and you couldn't ever be sure how someone would handle it. "You know, I'm getting pretty hungry. How does someone get food around this place?"

Her sudden question caught him off guard. It sounded more like a dismissal. He knew her well enough to know that she wanted to deal with this, alone - that there wasn't anything he could do to help. "Oh, yeah, I'll go get you something." He patted her head affectionately and stood to leave the room.

In the hall he wasn't surprised to see Teo sitting outside of the door. They made eye contact and Sokka placed a hand on the other boy's shoulder as he walked past. "I leave her to your care."

Inside of the room, as soon as she heard Sokka walk out, her smile evaporated. She pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped her good arm around them as the silent tears started to fall. Somehow, she knew that it would end up like this - Sokka hadn't ever given her any cause to believe that they were more than friends; but it still hurt – laying her crush to rest.


	10. New Beginnings

**Where Earth Meets Sky:**

_Chapter 10: New Beginnings_

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Yeah for romantic fluffy-ness!

So, Toph has a lot on her mind and a lot to work out. She is so stubborn! Poor Teo only wants to help.

I know that many of you have shown an interest in Emi and I have received a few requests to pair her up with someone. So, how does this feel?

**Disclaimer:** These characters and the setting do not belong to me! They are the property of Mike & Bryan! Only the ideas for this fic are my own. Oh, and Milo, Yuki, & Emi.

* * *

From his position beside the open door of Toph's room in the medical wing, Teo watched as she silently cried into her knees. He fought with the uncertainty over whether or not to comfort her. Toph didn't seem like the type to accept such a gesture, but he still wanted to help… somehow.

Pushing the wheels of his chair forward, Teo rolled towards the bed. Seeing her like this made his chest hurt. He recalled telling her that he would wait until she saw that Sokka wasn't the one; that their relationship wouldn't ever be more then friends. Of course, he hadn't know for certain, at the time, whether or not he was right, and hadn't fully anticipated the consequences of his statement being affirmed – that she would be heartbroken by Sokka's rejection.

Reaching out, he laid his hand on her shoulder with a gentle touch. Her trembling form became rigid and she snapped her head up. "Who's there?" Her wide eyes glared into his direction and she roughly shoved at his hand. "Go away! Leave me alone!"

Realizing that she was completely blind at the moment, without any connection to her precious element, Teo ignored her demand. "It's me," he announced and reached for her.

Toph's eyes went wide in horror at the sound of his voice. "Te… Teo!" She scrambled off of the bed, wobbling slightly when her feet touched the floor. Teo watched as she rubbed her fist, first into one eye, then into the other. "Wh… What are you doing here?" She visibly cringed at the shaky sound of her voice.

"I was worried about you."

"There's nothing for you to worry about," Toph said after taking a deep breath to regain her composure.

Teo looked at her sadly. "No offense, Toph, but I'm not blind. I can see the tear stains on your face."

Toph took a sharp breath and turned her back to him, looking down to hide her face. "It doesn't concern you."

"I beg to differ." Teo's tone was calm and soothing as he pushed forward to move around the bed, towards her.

Feeling the vibrations of his chair through the stone floor, Toph moved further away from him, only to realize that she was about to be backed into a corner. Teo watched as she turned around to face him. Her only way out was around him. She looked like a frightened cat-owl, ready to pounce.

Recognizing the gestures that she made with her good hand, he knew what she planned to do. Before she could earthbend, Teo angled his chair off center and shoved towards her, just missing the stone that was raised to trap his wheels. He was now at her side and reached to pull her into his lap.

"No! Teo! Let go of me!" Toph protested. She pounded against his chest and struggled to break free of his arms, but his hold never faltered.

"I'm not letting go, Toph. You don't have to go through this alone."

With a mixture of anger, frustration, and sorrow she eventually collapsed against him, no longer able to hold back her tears.

From the entrance into the room, Haru observed the scene before him. He had been concerned for his friend and came to check up on the situation. He was ready to jump in, to help – if needed, but Teo had everything under control. Besides, knowing Toph's personality – even only if by reputation, the fewer people involved was probably for the better.

"Haru, Is everything alright?" Katara called from down the hall after rounding the corner to find him there. She began to sprint towards him, worried after hearing the echo of Toph's voice through the corridor. Haru made a gesture for her to be quiet and she slowed her pace. Thankfully, the blind earthbender was too distracted to notice the commotion. Katara made it to his side only to find herself staring in wonder at the couple before her. She exchanged a confused look with Haru, who shrugged.

Concerned for her friend, Katara moved forward, only to be blocked when Haru's arm shot across the doorway in front of her. He shook his head and motioned that they should leave. With a sigh Katara followed him; it was obvious that she would have to wait to check on her patient.

When they were far enough down the hall, Katara asked, "What happened?"

Haru shook his head. "I'm not sure, but I get the feeling that we shouldn't interfere."

Katara nodded. She hadn't ever seen Toph cry. The girl was normally as solid as the earth and just as stubborn; and above all, hated to show her weakness. That Teo had somehow broken through her defenses was evidence enough that something significant had happened between them over the past 2 months.

"Which way?"

Katara blinked out of her thoughts and looked up at Haru. "Huh?"

He was pointing ahead of them where the hall ended; you could only go left or right. "Which way?"

"Oh, uhh…" Katara scrunched her eyes as she tried to remember. "R…right?" She honestly wasn't sure, not having previously come from this direction. The last time she had gone this way out of the wing she was following that girl who had been caring for Toph. What was her name again? As if on cue, the sudden sound of crashing objects over the floor brought Katara's attention forward.

Just as Haru was rounding the corner into the crossing hall someone collided into him. He caught the person's hand instinctively in time to keep them from falling back. The tray of food that the person had been carrying flipped onto the ground. He found himself staring down into a pair of large, frightened brown eyes. As he took in the rest of her features, he recognized the girl who seemed to constantly be waiting on the female earthbender.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" she bowed her soft spoken apologies.

Katara watched the scene before her as the girl's, whose name she suddenly remembered – Emi, face seemed to turn crimson and Haru stared at her in utter bewilderment.

"It… It's okay." Haru answered in a husky voice.

As if in slow motion, Emi straightened her back, but kept her eyes down. After what seemed like a minute, but was in fact only about 15 seconds, a quiet "umm," escaped her mouth. Haru was still holding her hand. She dared to peek up at his face, finding him staring down at her. When their eyes met, she bowed her head to hide her embarrassment and attempted to pull her hand out of his grasp.

Haru blinked out of his daze at the movement and released his hold, bringing his hand to the back of his neck nervously.

Emi was almost disappointed when her hand dropped to her side. She stood there for a moment fiddling with a stray strand of her hair before dropping to her knees to gather the food tray and now empty dishes that littered the ground around them.

Katara smirked in amusement and gave a little giggle before moving to help the girl. Haru continued to stare, as if frozen, until Katara slapped at his leg. She was bent down beside him, trying to get him to back up so that she could reach the plate on the other side of where he stood. He startled out of his reverie and dropped down to help clean up the mess.

"I… I've got to take this back to the kitchen an…and clean this up." Emi spoke barely loud enough to hear. She stood with the tray of empty dishes and backed away towards the kitchen, her eyes lowered – her face still flushed.

"I'll help." Katara followed after her, leaving Haru to stare after them, still kneeling on the ground.

* * *

Toph jolted at the sound of the loud clatter that came from the hall. She leapt off of Teo's lap, her face burning in embarrassment. The world came back into view when her feet found the floor. To her relief there wasn't anyone else in the room. She took advantage of the distraction to get around Teo. Mortified over being seen in such an uncharacteristic state, she fled from the room, away from Teo and away from the presences that she felt at the other end of the hall.


	11. It's All in the Past

**Where Earth Meets Sky:**

_Chapter 11 – It's All in the Past_

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**Author Note:** I figured I'd get more information out about Emi.

Oh my, it looks like both Emi and Toph are in the same boat. :giggle:

SO, if it isn't obvious, Haru and Emi are going to be substantial supporting characters. I do like Haru! His eyes are to die for! I Love men with green eyes, and his eyes are my favorite color.

BUT, I HATE that ridiculous looking moustache of his! *pouts*

So I found a common screencap of Haru and played around with my MS Paint to make the moustache of doom disappear. I left his soul patch, and I must say that he looks A LOT better!

You can follow the link in my profile to my **DeviantArt** page. I posted the picture as my webcam image. ^_^

**Disclaimer:** These characters and the setting do not belong to me! They are the property of Mike & Bryan! Only the ideas for this fic are my own. oh, and Milo, Yuki, & Emi...

* * *

With a wistful sigh the girl stared at nothing in particular as she slid a soapy washcloth over the plate in her hands, missing the majority of the left over sauce from the picken pot pie that had been served for dinner. A faint hint of pink highlighted her cheeks as she thought about him. His eyes were so intriguing! They were so vivid in color; a sign of his talent – his ability to bend the earth. Though – she scowled at her next thought – his moustache looked ridiculous.

"Emi, get your head out of the clouds. At the rate you're going, you'll be here all night." The girl snapped out of her dreamy state and looked at one of the older women of the community, who had just placed another pile of dirty dishes into the sink.

Emi was helping out with the cleaning in the kitchen, where she retreated to eat after seeing him in the dining hall - eating dinner with Teo, the Avatar, and the water tribe boy whom she now realized was Toph's crush. She had remained at the doorway for a short while, secretly watching. His hair was long – flowing down his back. It looked thick and was a rich brown in color; she found herself wondering what it would be like to run her fingers through it.

"How is the young Earthbender doing?"

The plate that she was washing slipped from her hands, back into the dish water. "Wh…what?" Emi stuttered in surprise.

"How is Toph doing?"

Emi's cheeks radiated with heat. She had been thinking of the wrong Earthbender. "Um… t..the Waterbender went to find her."

"Went to find her? Where did she go?"

"I don't know. She wasn't in the room when I brought her dinner." Emi recalled what happened earlier when she returned to the medical wing with a new tray of food. The Waterbender said she would look for the girl and that Emi should return to the dining hall. Emi shook her head and snatched the fallen plate back out of the water; devoting herself to the task of finishing the dishes. Toph was her best friend, the first friend that she had ever made in her 16 years of life. Rather than daydreaming of a guy that she had just met, she should be out there to help look for the female earthbender.

The older woman cocked an eyebrow at the girl who didn't seem to be listening to a word she said, and returned to the dining hall to sweep the floor.

It had been five years since she was brought to the Northern Air Temple. Emi thought of the night her parents were killed by the Fire Nation army that invaded her village. She and a few others fled into the surrounding mountains, where they became separated. Some travelers found her on the trail; they were on their way to the village to buy supplies. After learning of the onslaught and the fate of her parents, they brought her to the temple.

When the dishes were finally washed, Emi dried her hands on her apron and removed it, hanging it up before rushing out the door. She continued down the hall towards the medical wing, just to make sure that Toph hadn't returned. After finding that the room was still empty she made her way to the Mechanists lab.

For the past five years, Emi had worked hard to repay the people, who resided at the temple, for taking her in. She didn't have the time to play like the other children; she didn't feel that it was her right. She was an orphan now, and had to take care of herself. Her parents had taught her the importance of hard work. She was used to it, having had to do her older brother's share of chores along with her own. He had been an Earthbender, like their father; who intensively trained him, and all of the other Earthbenders of the village, with the intension of "making a difference in the war." It was a nice dream, but it was one that was overshadowed by illusion. It cost her father's life, along with most of the other Earthbenders of the village. She didn't know of her brother's fate, and had been too afraid to go back to find out.

Emi rapped on the door of the Mechanists lab, she could hear voices inside that hushed at the sound. When the door opened, the Mechanist stared down at her with a surprised expression. "Emi? Is everything alright?" There was a genuine hint of concern in his voice.

"Yes, I'm sorry to interrupt."

The Mechanist shook his head and opened the door wider. "It's nothing, don't worry about it. Won't you come in?"

Emi stared past the man, into the room, and hesitated. Three pairs of eyes were watching her; one blue, one gray, and one green – the water tribe boy, Teo, and the male Earthbender. She felt her cheeks flush and looked down before stepping into the room. "I…was just wondering if… anyone had found Toph, yet." Her hands were folded together in front of her and her voice came out barely loud enough for the Mechanist to hear, much less the others.

"Katara and Aang are still looking for her," The Mechanist answered. "Do you have any idea where she may have gone? The two of you have become quite close, haven't you?"

Keeping her eyes focused on the floor, Emi nodded. She felt awkward, standing there, being the center of attention. You could hear a pin drop, the room was so quiet, as everyone strained to hear what she might say next. "I…I'll go check a few places," she spoke in a rush and spun around to hurry out of the room.

"Emi, wait!" Teo called after her as she continued to run down the hall, hoping that they wouldn't follow.

After turning around a few corners she collapsed against a wall, gasping to catch her breath and clenching at her racing heart; whether it was racing because of him or not, she couldn't be sure. Oh, why was she getting so flustered? Shaking thoughts of him out of her head she focused on the task at hand. "I have to find Toph," she panted and pushed herself up to go look in the most obvious place.

* * *

Toph sat behind her bed with her back pressed against the wall and hugged her knees with her unbroken arm. She was in her room. What was the saying? The best place to hide is in plain sight. Who would think to look for her in her own room?

Her emotions were a wreck; the most predominant being anger and confusion. She was angry at herself for showing her weakness and confused by her feelings. Sokka only saw her like a little sister. Shouldn't she be upset about that? She was, at first; but now, she felt relieved.

Resting her forehead against her knees, she sighed. Her confusion turned into frustration. Teo… She didn't understand what she felt for him. It scared her, the way he could see through her - it wasn't the same, as with Sokka. The way he held her made her head spin – but she blamed that on her inability to see when he pulled her into his lap. She tried to convince herself that she wasn't affected by his strength. She had been around strong men before; men who were ten times stronger than Teo – they never affected her like this.

_'He's smart, really silly and goofy, and a lot of fun to be around.'_ Her previous words to Emi about Sokka echoed through her mind.

_'Hmmm… Sounds like Teo to me,'_ was Emi's response.

At the time of that conversation, Toph firmly denied her friend's observations. She couldn't possibly like Teo… could she?

Distracted by her thoughts, Toph jumped at the sound of a knock at her door. She tapped her foot against the ground to see who it was. Who would think to look for her here?

Emi, of course…


	12. Talk among Friends

**Where Earth Meets Sky:**

_Chapter 12 – Talk among Friends_

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**Author Note: **Wow... I really should be working on homework... but! I've been working on this on and off for the past week. Writing is just about the only thing that keeps me sane in my crazy, hectic life!

Though there really isn't a lot of action in this chapter, something that is very significant happens at the end. Toph finally admits her feelings. And NO, this isn't sudden. the past 11 chapters have been slowly building up to this point.

Thank you, SO MUCH, Leona629, for being my beta! You've offered such wonderful suggestions! I really value your input.

**Disclaimer:** These characters and the setting do not belong to me! They are the property of Mike & Bryan! Only the ideas for this fic are my own. oh, and Milo, Yuki, & Emi...

* * *

"Hey, Haru, what are you doing there?" Teo rolled out of the room into the hall of the medical wing. He considered following after Toph, but decided it would be best to give her some space. She seemed fine, medically – with the exception of her broken arm.

Haru blinked out of his daze and took one last look at the girls retreating down the hall before standing to acknowledge his friends presence. "Ah… I was about to pull you away for dinner. I haven't seen you eat since I got here."

Teo's stomach growled at the suggestion of food, making them both chuckle. "Yeah, I guess I should eat something, huh?" He wheeled to the end of the hall and they continued towards the dining room.

Once their picken pot pie was plated, they found and joined Sokka at one of the tables. "How's Toph holding up?" Sokka asked when they settled into their places.

"Well, you know how she is…" Teo answered, with a wave of insignificance.

"She ran away, didn't she?"

Teo nodded and stuffed a piece of meat into his mouth.

"Wait, you mean she…" Haru was cut off when Katara appeared, seeming from out of nowhere, behind Teo. She looked like a mother saber-toothed moose-lion ready to defend its young.

"Where is Toph?" Her arms were crossed over her chest as she loomed over the boy in front of her.

Teo tilted his head back to stare up at her and gulped. "Isn't she in the medical wing?" He played innocent; she could have returned by now - though he doubted it.

"You know that she isn't, why else would I be asking?" Katara stared at his blank expression and let out a heavy sigh. Her arms dropped to her side. "What happened?"

Sokka and Teo exchanged a look while Haru stared back and forth between them both in confusion. "I think it would be best to discuss this somewhere more private," Sokka suggested.

Teo nodded in agreement. "Let's go to my dad's lab." He gathered up his unfinished plate of food, set it in his lap, and led the way. Haru swallowed his mouthful of food and gave his plate to an older woman, who was collecting dirty dishes, before following. Sokka scarfed down the rest of his meal and left his empty plate on the table to lead his sister after them.

"What have we here?" The Mechanist looked up from his desk to ask when the four teens entered his lab without knocking. He had been working on a blueprint, with Aang by his side.

"Sorry, Dad, we needed somewhere to talk."

"Sure, sure," The Mechanist nodded and put his quill down. His eyebrows knitted together as he noted their serious expressions. "What's wrong?"

"My patient is missing." Katara pulled away from her brother's guiding arm and crossed the room to Aang's side.

"Toph's gone? Where is she?" He asked with concern.

"Ask them." Katara nodded her head towards the three boys behind her.

Sokka spoke up in their defense. "She probably just needs some time to herself. You know how she gets sometimes."

"Well, aren't you always the one to go after her?" Katara reminded him.

"I don't think that will help this time." Sokka rubbed the back of his neck and averted his eyes.

"Why not? What's going on?" Katara eyed all three of them suspiciously, glaring for an extra minute at Haru, who had been the one to keep her from investigating earlier.

He shrugged and returned her look with wide, innocent eyes. "I don't know," he hummed.

Katara turned towards Teo and her brother with an accusing stare before both started to explain the situation at the same time. "Wait, wait, wait," she held her hands up to ward off the rush of words that came flooding to her ears. "You rejected her?"

"Well, you know…"

"Yeah, I know," Katara cut him off. "But still. Come on Aang, we have to find her."

"You don't even know where to look," Teo called after them, but they were already out of the room.

"So that's how it is," Haru commented.

"Yeah," both Sokka and Teo answered together.

"Any idea where she is?"

"I doubt she's in the garden. That would be too obvious, since I've found her there twice before," Teo mused.

"So…" Haru broke the moment of silence that followed. "You and Toph aren't together?" The question was directed to Teo.

"No. I'm wor…" There was a knock on the door. The guys stared at one another as the Mechanist stood to answer.

"Emi? Is everything alright?"

"Yes, I'm sorry to interrupt."

Haru's head snapped towards the door at the sound of her voice, it was the girl that he had run into in the hall. So, her name was Emi…

"It's nothing, don't worry about it. Won't you come in?"

Sokka and Teo looked from Haru and followed his gaze towards the door, where a girl with wide, frightened brown eyes stared back at him. Her cheeks glowed with color and she dropped her gaze before stepping forward. Her voice, which had been calm and polite, was now barely loud enough for them to hear her next statement.

Haru took a step closer, straining to hear what she was saying. He was only able to make out the words "wondering" and "found." The Mechanist told her that Katara and Aang were looking for her and asked if she had any ideas where Toph could be. So she and Toph were to be friends. Haru would have to talk to the other earthbender later. The girl before him looked like a scared sparrowkeet ready to fly away if he tried to approach. Just as that thought crossed his mind she spoke in a rush, spinning on her heels and dashing out of the room.

"Emi, wait!" Teo called after her, but it was too late, she was gone. "Well, there goes our chance. I'm sure she would know where to find Toph." When Haru turned around to face him, he added; "What did you do to her?"

"What? Nothing! I didn't do anything. I mean, we ran into each other in the hall, but I didn't do anything… except keep her from falling."

Both Sokka and Teo looked at him with a smirk and couldn't keep from laughing.

"What?"

Teo rolled towards him and reached up to pat his back. "Good luck. She has actually opened up quite a bit since Toph's been around, but if she keeps hiding from you, I'm sure Toph can help."

* * *

Emi knocked on the door again, before realizing that if Toph was there and didn't want anyone to find her; she wasn't going to answer. So she pressed down on the door lever and pushed it open a crack to peek inside. The room looked empty, but Emi knew of a few places inside where someone could hide.

Pushing the door open further, she stepped into the room unannounced, confident that Toph would know who was there, anyway. Emi had learned that it was impossible to sneak up on the blind earthbender.

On her way across the room, Emi checked inside of and behind the chifforobe. After finding no one there, she continued towards the bed, where she lifted the bed skirt to check underneath it. Again, she found no one there. "Come on, Toph. If you're here, I could really use someone to talk to. I…don't know what to do." Her last sentence came out barely above a whisper. She had learned enough about Toph over the past couple of months to know that the girl preferred to work her problems out alone; but Emi wondered what would happen if she admitted to being the one with the problem. Would Toph be willing to help?

A moment passed before Emi sighed. Perhaps she had been wrong that Toph would have come to her room. She turned and headed back to the door.

"What kind of problem do you have, Princess?"

Emi stopped in her tracks at the sound of Toph's voice. A relieved smile graced her face and she turned back around. The voice had come from the bed, but where, if not under and obviously not on top? She retraced her steps and started her explanation. "Some… Something happened earlier. I can't stop thinking about it. I'm so confused..."

The sound of smirk came from behind the bed. "So what else is new?"

Emi sat down on the edge of the bed. "It's not like that!" she tried to defend her position, but it came out sounding week and helpless.

She heard Toph blow out of puff of air, like she was blowing her bangs out of her face. "So what is it like, then?"

"I… I ran into a… a boy, in the hallway." Emi pulled herself farther up onto the bed.

"So? It's not like you haven't run into someone before. Did you apologize? Was he rude to you? Are you hurt or something?" Toph stood up from the nook between the headboard and the wall.

Emi stared with wide eyes. "Of course I apologized and, no, I'm not hurt." Her eyes softened and gazed over as if she were dreaming. "He wasn't rude at all. He was very sweet." She stared down at her hand with fondness. "He stopped me from falling…"

Toph cocked an eyebrow. Of course, she couldn't feel how her friend's heart beat abnormally – since Emi was on the bed – but she could hear the whimsical sound of her voice.

Not taking notice to Toph's expression, Emi hugged her knees and rested her chin on top of them. "He has the most gorgeous eyes; and his hair! I could play with it for hours!" She gave a dreamy sigh before wrinkling her face with distaste. "He would look better without that moustache, though."

Moustache? Where had Toph heard Sokka talking about someone's moustache before? It was awhile back, before the end of the war. "Who are you talking about?"

"I don't know his name," Emi pouted. "He arrived with your friends, yesterday."

Now she remembered! "This guy that you're talking about, is he an earthbender?"

"Sure is, do you know him?" Emi's eyes brightened with hope. "I mean, you should know him, right?"

Toph nodded. "Sounds like it could be Haru."

"Haru…" Emi tested the sound of his name on her lips and decided that she liked it.

Toph contorted her face in disgust. This was worse than Katara had ever been and almost as bad as sensing Sokka and Suki's make out sessions.

"I… I think that I really like him, Toph; despite the facial hair. My heart flutters just thinking about him, and when I see him, it's difficult to breathe."

Toph was considering the possibility that Emi had lost her mind. She liked Sokka, but she never felt anything like what Emi was talking about. Then it hit her, like a rockslide. Whenever Teo held her, her stomach felt funny - like she had swallowed a butterfly. She couldn't see him, but whenever she heard his voice, her breath would catch.

"Toph? Are you ok?" She hadn't realized that her legs had given out and that she had sunk to the floor. Her heart was pounding. It couldn't be… Toph shook her head in denial. "Sweetie, what's wrong?" Emi was at her side faster than a canyon crawler to food.

"I… like… Teo?" Toph verbalized her suspicions. "No way!"

Emi pulled her into a hug, making her squirm uncomfortably. "Is it really so hard to believe?"


	13. The Morning After

Where Earth Meets Sky:

Chapter 13 – The Morning After

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**Author Note: **Another Chapter! Sorry for taking so long on this one. Catching up with homework, and then having my finals, while praying that I wouldn't fail the classes or have to take an incomplete really had me stressed and insanely busy for awhile there.

Wooo Whooo! Chapter 13! Lucky number 13! I want to say that this is probably the midway point of this series, but I'm really not sure. I've got lots more planned to happen, but who truly knows how many chapters that'll take.

I hope you enjoyed the chapter! :XD: Comments? Is there anything that you'd like to see happen? Let me know and I may think of a way to work it into the story

**Disclaimer:** These characters and the setting do not belong to me! They are the property of Mike & Bryan! :love: Only the ideas for this fic are my own. oh, and Milo, Yuki, & Emi...

* * *

The faint sensation of something soft and silky tickled her nose. After several attempts to swat the annoyance away, Toph snapped awake. Sitting up in her bed, she rubbed under her nose vigorously with the attempt to chase away the itch. She then felt around on her bed for the culprit of her wake-up-call and grabbed a fist full of hair that wasn't her own. Following her fingers up the tresses, they met with the warm back of the person who was sleeping beside her.

She remembered the events of the previous evening and recalled how Emi had come looking for her, only to talk about boys all night. She recalled Emi's words, "I… I think that I really like him, Toph; despite the facial hair. My heart flutters just thinking about him, and when I see him, it's difficult to breathe," and how they made her realize her own feelings – that she liked Teo.

As soon as the notion crossed her mind, again, she rolled off of the bed. The world came into view as soon as her feet touched the stone floor and replaced any thoughts that she was having about him.

A rustling sound came from the bed. Toph listened closely to her guest's breathing and became aware that her sudden movements had awakened Emi. "Mornin, Princess. Sleep well?"

Emi stretched. "What time is it?" she asked through a yawn. Toph ignored the question. "Oh no, it's morning!" Emi's form suddenly appeared on Toph's field of "vision" when she leapt out of the bed.

"Calm down, Princess. No one's moving around the halls, yet." To Toph, that meant it was still before breakfast.

Emi let out a sigh of relief and pulled her hair up into a messy bun. "Oh good, I have time to do your hair!"

"You don't have to," Toph grumbled in annoyance.

"Oh… Um… Okay… Sorry." Emi's reply was quiet and barely above a whisper. She looked down in disappointment.

Feeling a twinge of guilt, Toph sighed in exasperation. "Fine, do whatever you want, Princess."

Emi's mood brightened in an instant as she moved to brush Toph's hair. "Why do you call me Princess?" she asked timidly when she started to weave part of Toph's hair into a braid.

"Because you remind me of how the nobles claim a young lady should act. My father always used to say that every young lady is a princess in her own right."

"Your father must really love you." There was a slight hint of sadness in Emi's tone.

"Maybe he did, once." Toph shrugged her shoulders.

Emi wrapped the braid into a bun, tying it into a knot to let a ponytail of unbraided hair cascade down her back. "Oh, I'm sorry. Was he killed during the war?"

"What!" Toph was taken back for a minute before she realized that Emi had misunderstood. "No, he's alive. Both of my parents are alive and well."

"Oh… Well, then… why aren't you with them?"

Toph's posture stiffened. "I would rather not talk about it," she stated, leaving no room for questions, and headed towards the door. "Come on, we'll be early and can get first dibs on the food."

The people of the Northern Air Temple were starting to wake, going about their morning routines. Toph could easily feel the gang walking towards the dining hall, not too far ahead of them. There wasn't any sense in continuing to hide, so she picked up her pace. She caught up to Katara first, who was lagging behind the others. "It's not like you to mope about, Sugar-Queen."

Though the entire process took half a minute, in a flash Katara stopped, looked at the blind earthbender, registered what she was actually seeing, and grabbed hold of the girl so tightly that Toph couldn't breathe.

"Toph! Where have you been? I was so worried!"

Toph summoned the strength of her element to push out of the hold. "Watch the arm, Katara, geez!"

Katara released her as if she were a hot sweet potato. "I'm sorry, are you alright!" she exclaimed in panic, having forgotten about Toph's broken arm.

"I'm fine, don't fuss so much," Toph complained and crossed her good arm across her chest, aware of the crowd that was gathering around her; Sokka, Aang, Haru, and Teo.

Beside her, Emi shifted back and forth on her feet. Toph barely heard her say, "Umm."

"What's up, Princess? Gotta pee?"

Emi startled and stood still. "W… what? No!"

"So what's the problem? Speak up so that someone can hear you!"

"I forgot that I'm supposed to help out in the kitchen," Emi said in a rush and hurried away.

"Is she always like that?" Sokka asked at the same time that Haru asked;

"Is work all that she ever does?"

Toph blew at her bangs. She realized that her tone had been sharper then she meant it to be and that she would have to apologize later. "No," she answered both questions at once. "Let's go eat, I'm starved." Before anyone else could make a sound she continued to walk down the hall.

* * *

During breakfast, Toph squeezed in to sit between Haru and Sokka, forcing Haru to scoot down into the place that Teo had saved for her to sit beside him. Aang and Katara were sitting across from her.

"Well then, since we're all together now, we can go to dad's lab after we eat to talk about why you all are here." Teo seemed as calm, cool, and collected as ever. The fact that Toph hadn't acknowledged his presence at all didn't seem to faze him.

"That's a good idea," Sokka agreed. "We're running a bit behind schedule."

"Wait a minute," Toph interjected. "Sokka, I thought you said that finding me here killed two buzzard wasps with one stone? So, shouldn't that have opened up more time on your schedule?"

"Not exactly, Toph. You see, the original plan was to stop here, talk to the Mechanist, and then take Aang back to the fire nation palace before searching for you." Sokka ruffled her hair.

"Hey, Emi worked hard on that, you know!" Toph swatted at his hand.

"Does she do your hair every morning?" Haru asked, taking sudden interest at the mention of Emi.

Toph looked in his direction and a smirk played across her face. "Yeah, she has a hair fetish, or something. She loves long hair." _And she would love to get her fingers tangled in yours_, she thought, figuring it might be better not to say it out loud. "But I think she has something against moustaches."

"Oh… really?" Haru considered this new bit of information, fingering his moustache absentmindedly.

After the group finished breakfast, they returned their dishes and followed Teo to his father's lab. "Sorry to interrupt, dad, but now seemed like a good time for everyone to finally meet," he explained when the Mechanist opened the door.

"Yes, yes, do come in."

The group filed into the room, all six of them; Aang, Katara, Sokka, Toph, Teo, and Haru.

"I have briefly mentioned this to the Mechanist, already," Aang started to explain when everyone had settled down somewhere. "We were talking about basic architectural design, which really isn't one of my strong points. I think I'll leave that up to Sokka, Toph, and the Mechanist from now on." Aang laughed and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Okay, so what are you talking about, Twinkle-toes?" Toph was sitting backwards in a chair with her good arm crossed around the back of it.

"Zuko and I have been plotting a way that all four nations – benders and nonbenders – can live together in harmony.

Toph cocked an eyebrow. This wasn't news to her. They had been plotting something since the end of the war. What she didn't know was what they had finally decided on doing. "And?" she waved her hand towards him to continue.

"We've decided on building a city, Republic City, where everyone will be welcome to live."


	14. One step at a time

**Where Earth Meets Sky:**

_Chapter 14 – One step at a time_

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**Author Note:** Oops, sorry everyone... I uploaded this chapter to my DeviantArt account last night and forgot about uploading it here. *Bows deeply* I'm so sorry, forgive me! Sooooo... Here it is, I know you all have been waiting!

I hope that you like it! Now that I have Toph's feelings for Sokka out of the way, I'm starting to have a lot of fun with this fic. Things should pick up. I have lots of plot ideas, for both Teoph and Emaru. I'm already working on Ch. 15. Please look forward to it!

Again, if there is anything specific that you would like to see, (I know...more fluff. That's a given. I mean, more specific then that) let me know and I'll see how/if I can work it into the story.

Thank all of you, btw, for the wonderful wonderful comments in Ch. 13! (I think this was mostly in DeviantArt, but still,) They made me very happy!

Oh, and btw, if anyone is interested in seeing pictures of Emi, I have her profile uploaded to my DeviantArt account. There is a link in my profile, here.

**Disclaimer:** These characters and the setting do not belong to me! They are the property of Mike & Bryan! Only the ideas for this fic are my own. oh, and Milo, Yuki, & Emi...

* * *

That afternoon, the gang and friends gathered at the "landing strip" where Appa was being prepared for departure. Teo sat in his wheelchair, watching as Toph said her goodbyes. Haru stood beside him, having planned from the beginning to stick around. It was only a bonus that he had found a girl to take an interest in here as well.

Teo moved closer to the group to also say his goodbyes when he heard Sokka's comment to Toph. "Still friends?"

"You're not getting rid of me i_that/i_easy, Meathead," Toph answered and slugged him in the arm.

"Oww…" Sokka chuckled and rubbed the tender spot on his arm. "Does saying that I was starting to miss that make me sound masochistic?"

Toph hit him again.

Sokka grinned before grabbing her up into a tight hug. He whispered something into her ear that made her cheeks flush.

"Put me down!" She insisted and pounded her fist against his chest.

"Oh, hey Teo." Sokka greeted after noticing him over Toph's shoulder. He was in the process of setting her back down onto the ground. Once there, she sent him off balance with yet another punch to the arm and stomped away, towards Aang.

"Make sure you take care of that arm, we'll need you in peak condition!" he called after her with a laugh before turning his attention to Teo. "Make sure she takes care of herself."

Teo nodded, "Of course." They shook hands and Sokka looked at Haru.

"Take care, man. I'll see you when you guys get to the city." Sokka nodded towards the entry way. "Best of luck," Emi had just walked out, carrying a basket. The guys watched as she made a wide arch around them, trying not to make it too obvious by stopping to talk to a couple of kids with gliders along the way. She took the basket to Katara, who was talking to Aang and Toph.

"Hey, what's in the basket?" Sokka called out. He stepped around Teo and Haru and made a bee line towards the others. "Is it food?"

Katara hid the basket behind her back when he stopped in front of her. "You can't be hungry again! We just ate lunch!"

Sokka shrugged his shoulders, "What can I say? I'm a growing boy."

"Well, this is for the trip." Katara slapped his hands away, making him pout. Everyone laughed.

"It's time to get in the air," Aang spoke up after everyone calmed down. "We'll see everyone in a couple of months. I'll send a messenger hawk with more details."

The Mechanist, who had been waiting off to the side, stepped forward to shake the Avatar's hand. "I will have the blueprints that you asked for ready to return with it when it gets here."

Aang said his thanks and his last goodbye before airlifting himself into Appa's saddle and helping Katara, and the food basket, up. Sokka followed.

The rest of the group watched as Aang positioned himself on Appa's head and called out for the air bison to take to the skies. Half a moment later, a startled squeal drew everyone's attention to the same spot. Katara and Sokka leaned over the edge of the saddle to see what the commotion was all about. Aang reined the flying beast to a halt in his assent.

Unaware of his close proximity, Emi took a step backwards with the intention of making a silent departure. In the process, she stepped on Haru's foot and stumbled. She found herself caught in his arms, dipped backwards towards the ground. Their faces were close enough that he could have stolen a kiss, but he didn't dare. Her face was scarlet and she looked like she might faint at any moment.

Just as quickly as she had fallen, Haru lifted her back to her feet and released her. "Are you alright?"

Emi wobbled on her feet.

Haru reached for her.

Emi jumped away from him. "I… I'm so…so sor…sorry!" she said in a quivering voice before rushing around him, back towards the door that led into the temple.

Haru watched her run away, unsure of what to do. He felt a nudge against the back of his legs and looked down, behind him, at Teo. "Go after her."

As Haru ran after her, Toph edged away. Teo had somehow managed to move closer to her while she was distracted by the previous incident.

"Would you like to take a walk?"

Toph could feel him rolling after her. She wanted to run, but the words that Sokka had whispered to her echoed through her mind, i_give Teo a chance._/i She reminded herself to pummel Sokka into the core of the earth the next time she saw him. "I guess," she answered after another moment of hesitation.

"Great!" Teo smiled

"So, where do you suggest that we go?"

"How about the garden?"

Toph shrugged her shoulders. "Wherever, lead the way."

Teo pushed forward and led the way to the garden. Toph kept pace beside him. As they walked, the silence between them was deafening. Toph couldn't distinguish his heartbeat over the racing tempo of her own.

Once they reached their destination, Toph was happy to wander away from him. It was cooler now than the first time that she came here. The sweet smell of the White Lotus was gone. Summer would be ending soon.

Teo parked his chair and watched as she made her way towards a stone bridge over a man made creek. She sat and dangled her feet over the side. Her toes barely touched the water, but she let out a tiny squeak and raised her feet straight out in front of her. He imagined that the water must have been cold.

Toph scooted back slightly, so that her feet wouldn't touch the water, and began to swing them back and forth. If she kept her hand in her lap, it was easy to pretend that he wasn't there – watching her. The whole situation was very awkward. She wasn't sure how to act. Should she act like normal – rough and sarcastic – or should she act more like her proper upbringing – sweet and ladylike? Somehow the latter just didn't seem natural and the former seemed crude.

The whistling of the wind broke through her thoughts; except, it wasn't the wind. Toph listened carefully – it was music. Someone was playing a flute. A slight gasp escaped her lips and she slowly touched the ground – almost afraid to confirm her suspicion. The tone of the instrument was soft and the notes held a graceful flow. The tune was almost haunting, yearning – reaching out, begging to caress her with warmth that crept into her body and touched her heart. How was it possible that he could play so well?

Teo's fingers danced over the holes of the little wooden instrument that was the only remaining heirloom having belonged to his mother, saved from the flood that took the use of his legs. It had been passed down to him from his father. Over the years, Teo had mastered how to play it. Its sweet sound was like her voice, always encouraging him to do his best. He only hoped that its music might offer some hope to the girl who sat across the garden, seeming lost.

The soothing melody helped her to relax. It cleared her mind and soon she completely forgot her worries about how she should act. The music drew her to him. Without realizing it, she had closed the distance between them.

Teo was so engrossed in the music that he was shocked, when he stopped playing and opened his eyes, to find Toph standing in front of him. Her eyes were closed, as if the music had put her into a trance. Reaching towards her, he took hold of her hand. To his surprise, she didn't resist.

Toph slowly opened her eyes. Her awareness of him seemed heightened by the music – or so she thought. Her hand in his tingled and her stomach flipped when he had touched her, yet she couldn't bring herself to pull away. "That was beautiful. Where did you learn to play like that?"

A smile crept onto Teo's face. It was as he thought it might be; she was sensitive to music. "A lot of practice."


	15. Run Away

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**Where Earth Meets Sky:**

_Chapter 15 – Run Away_

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**Author Note: **

Some more Fluff! I hope you like it!

Okay, so I was having some difficulity with this chapter.

_isabellefox-earthbender _from here suggested an "accidental kiss," but I thought that it might be a bit too early for that...

It was _inaligrimalkin_ from **DeviantArt **who suggested a scene where Teo almost kisses her cheek, but stops himself, knowing how unsure she still is about everything.

That idea really saved the chapter, because I really thought that my Teoph interaction before that was kind of lame.

Also, _Leona629_ is really busy at the moment, so I didn't want to bug her with asking her to beta. So I gave it a few read throughs on my own and changed some things. I hope that it turns out alright.

If anything looks wrong or seems out of place, please feel free to let me know.

**Disclaimer:** These characters and the setting do not belong to me! They are the property of Mike & Bryan! Only the ideas for this fic are my own. oh, and Milo, Yuki, & Emi...

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It had been a week since Aang, Katara, and Sokka left to return to the fire nation. Toph had had enough and was on a mission to end the source of her annoyance.

"Emi, there you are! Wait up!" Toph called as she ran down the hall towards her. Emi stopped and watched her approach. "Here, let me help you with that."

"Um… are you sure that you can get that?" Emi asked as Toph earthbended up on a pillar of stone to take the top of the two baskets that she was carrying stacked on top of one another.

Toph held the basket against her waist with her good arm and returned the floor to normal. "I'm fine, I'm fine…"

"Are you hiding from Teo again?" It was the only reason that she could think of why Toph would be willing to help out with the chores.

"Yeah, sure… something like that." Toph continued forward, towards an airlift.

Emi shifted her lightened load and followed after her. "So, what happened? I thought you guys were doing alright."

"Eh…" Toph shrugged.

Emi wondered what was going on, but Toph didn't seem to be in the mood to talk about it. After joining Toph on the airlift Emi pushed for an answer. "Did Teo do something wrong?" She pulled a cord and a puff of steam sent the lift into motion.

"What makes you think that Teo did anything?"

"Well… It just seems like… I don't know… You don't seem like yourself."

Toph nodded in agreement. "It's not Teo, it's me." The airlift stopped and she eagerly stepped off of the wooden platform back onto the solid stone floor.

"Oh…" Emi replied as she followed. "Want to talk about it?"

"Not really." Toph stepped aside and waited for Emi to pass. "Lead the way."

Emi nodded – forgetting that Toph couldn't see it – and moved forward towards the laundry room. They dropped off the baskets full of dirty linens in a room filled with washing bins. Several women scrubbed clothing over washboards while others fed them through the wringer. They were each given a basket full of wet towels that needed to be hung out to dry.

The next room over was the one filled with tables – used for folding – that lead to the balcony from which the laundry was hung to dry on a line that connected to the opposite tower. No sooner had Toph set her basket down when Emi said, "Oh, there aren't any clothes pins out here."

"I'll get them," Toph offered and moved back into the room where she found Teo waiting at the doorway with Haru at his side - Haru was holding the bag of clothes pins. Toph waved him into the room as she walked towards them. "The rest is up to you now," she quietly said and reached up to pat his shoulder.

"Thanks, Toph, I owe you," Haru whispered in return and continued past her.

i_"No, thank you!"_/i Toph thought to herself and met with Teo in the corridor. When she took a step down the hall, Teo's hand on her arm stopped her. "What?" she looked towards him to ask.

"Aren't you curious about how it'll turn out?"

"Not really, I'll hear about it later, whether I want to or not. All I've been hearing about all week is Haru this and Haru that."

"What if she runs away again?"

Toph thought about it for a moment. This wasn't their first attempt at trying to set Emi and Haru up, but each time Emi had managed to get away. "You have a point."

"Hey, Toph? Have you found the clothes pins, yet?" Emi peeked into the room from the balcony; she was holding a wet towel ready to hang on the line. While the person who stared back at her may have been an earthbender, they certainly weren't blind or female. She brought her hands to her mouth and gasped; the towel dropped to the floor at her feet.

Haru closed the gap between them, and bent to pick up the towel. He gave it a shake as he straightened and held it out for her to take. "You dropped this."

Emi stared at him with wide eyes. Her heart seemed to stop. She looked past him at the door and then did a double take at his face - his moustache was gone. She had been avoiding him all week and was only just now noticing it. His only facial hair was now a patch of hair under his bottom lip - It looked good. Her eyes traveled up his face to find that he was watching her. She quickly looked away and accepted the towel. "Thank you," she said in a quiet tone.

"You are welcome," Haru replied and watched as she took another glance towards the door. "You needed the clothes pins, right?" he added, reminding her of her task before she could run away.

"She's thinking about it…" Teo whispered to Toph, at the door, before giving Emi a reassuring smile.

"Huh... what?" Emi tore her eyes away from the Teo and looked back at Haru in surprise. He held up the bag of clothes pins for her to see. "Oh… Y… yeah. Thanks." Emi took the bag from him and took one last glance at the door to find that Toph was giving her a thumbs up. It was obvious that she wasn't going to get away this time.

"You know, I can help if you'd like?"

Emi dared to glance at him. A boy helping with the laundry was unheard of.

"I used to help my mother," Haru explained and offered a smile.

"S… sure… If you'd like." Emi turned towards the balcony with the towel and bag of clothes pins in hand. Haru followed, but not before taking a quick glance towards the two observers to wave them away.

"Well, I guess he has everything under control," Teo said to Toph. "Come on, let's go."

Instead of turning to leave, Toph leaned over the back of Teo's chair to stop him. "Hold on, I'm not so sure, her heart is really racing. Give it a minute." Teo swallowed, forcing his heart back down into his chest. She was so close that he could turn his head and kiss her cheek. He wanted to, but her next words shook him out of his thoughts. "There, watch… she's moving towards the balcony door." Toph grabbed his arm to make her point. Teo watched as Emi came into view; she saw them blocking the doorway and ducked back out of sight, but that's not what Teo was really paying attention to.

Toph jerked upright and stepped away from Teo's chair. His heart had been racing as fast as Emi's. He wasn't like the others; because of his chair, she never saw him. It required direct contact for her to see him; in her haste, she had forgotten this. It was easy to ignore his feelings when she couldn't feel them. It made it easier to act normally around him.

Teo watch Toph's reaction. She seemed to freeze and her cheeks were highlighted with the faintest shade of pink. "Toph?"

She blinked and jerked into motion. "Well, it looks like things are fine, here. I'm supposed to see the doctor about my arm. See ya around."

Toph hurried down the hall back to the airlift. She welcomed the blindness that it offered when she stepped off of the stone floor; a chance for her mind to go completely blank. Yet, the feeling of his heart beat continued to course up her arm; the memory refusing to disappear.

With a sigh of disappointment, Teo pushed his chair into motion. Emi wasn't the only one who needed to learn how to stop running away from her feelings.


	16. Revelation

**Where Earth Meets Sky:**

_Chapter 16: Revelation_

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**Disclaimer:** These characters and the setting do not belong to me! They are the property of Mike & Bryan! Only the ideas for this fic are my own. oh, and Milo, Yuki, & Emi...

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Emi walked with a bounce in her step. She couldn't wait to tell Toph the news. Her cheeks flushed, again, just thinking about it.

Toph hadn't been in her room. Emi had looked around in all of the usual places, but couldn't find her. Teo had said that he hadn't seen her since morning, after telling him that she had to see the doctor about her arm - the doctor told Emi that there wasn't any such appointment.

"You know, for an Earthbender, the earth is the ideal source of comfort," Haru said when everyone gathered in the cafeteria for lunch - everyone except for Toph.

His comment gave Emi the idea to check the lowest level of the temple. Since the doctor had instructed Toph to do minimal earthbending until her arm was healed, she imagined that would probably be the next best thing to Toph burying herself in the mountain.

It was now afternoon and Emi was heading towards the stairs that led to the basement. Once she was there, she held her lantern up to illuminate the scant distance into the darkness the light would extend. Emi swallowed her uneasiness; this would be her first time down this way. Until a couple of years ago, only the Mechanist was allowed to come here. Emi had heard from the other woman of the temple about how dark and closed off this area was and was convinced that it was the perfect hiding spot for Toph – who didn't need light and who was accustomed to such places.

Emi descended the stone staircase carefully. "Toph, are you down here?" she called, while extending her arm to allocate the light source to reach as far as possible. As a result, she over extended her arm; setting herself off balance and causing her to stumble forward. Her foot grazed the edge of a step and she tumble forward, accidently slamming the lantern against the wall and causing it to break. With a cry of alarm, she braced herself for a hard impact, but instead landed with a soft thud.

"What are you doing here, Princess?"

Emi pushed herself up from the almost spongy feeling stone and looked around, but all she saw was darkness. "Toph? You're not supposed to be bending."

"Oh? Should I have let you fall down the stairs? You could have died, you know…"

Emi stood and reached out to steady herself on the wall. "Uhh… Yeah… T..thanks," she peered through the darkness, but saw nothing. "Where… Where are you, Toph?" her voice was shaky, and she reached out with her other hand.

"I'm right in front of you," Toph's voice broke through the blackness that surrounded them. "I thought I was the blind one here."

After taking a tentative step forward Emi's hand met with the feeling of silk. She ran her hand down it until meeting with something that was hard and felt like cotton – the silk had been Toph's hair and she was now holding Toph's shoulder. With a sigh of relief Emi reached out with her other hand to hug her friend. Toph stiffened in her embrace.

"What's wrong with you?"

"It… Its pitch black… I… I can't see a thing!"

"Welcome to my world," Toph smirked, "You afraid of the dark or something?" Emi didn't reply, but her tightened grip was all the confirmation that she needed. "Oh good spirits…" Toph sighed in exasperation. "Come on already… I'll take you out." She shrugged out of Emi's arms and walked forward, past the softened stairs. "Watch your step."

Emi clung to the back of Toph's tunic with one hand and ran her other hand along the wall as they climbed back up to the door. The closer they got, the brighter it became as light that shone in from the open door pierced the darkness. Emi's hand slowly unclenched from its hold.

Once they were back on the main floor of the temple Emi let out a sigh of relief and vowed never to go down there again.

"Well, you're back safely," Toph mocked. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going back to my reverie." She turned back towards the door, but before she could get through Emi slammed it shut and leaned back against it.

"No! You can't go! I was looking for you!" Emi was reminded of her reasons for searching for Toph in the first place. "I've got so much that I wanted to tell you!"

Toph blew her bangs out of her face. She knew this would happen. It was part of the reason that she had been hiding, but now that Emi had found her there wouldn't be any way to avoid what was to come. Emi now had a grip on her good hand and was bouncing in excitement.

"You won't believe what happened! Haru said that he liked me and that he'd like to get to know me better! Ohhhh… he's so sweet!" Emi let out a dreamy sigh. "He helped me hang the laundry and… and… his hand touched mine when we were hanging the towels!" she squealed. "Can you believe it?"

"Yeeaahh… sounds nice. I'm happy for you. He's been chasing you around everywhere, and you kept running away. It's amazing he didn't give up on you."

Emi sobered at Toph's words. While she knew that they were true, they reminded her of something else.

Toph felt the sudden change in Emi's posture and knew that she had hit a nerve. _iGood,/i_ she thought, _imaybe she'll leave me alone now./i_

Emi fiddled with a stray strand of hair, "Well, yeah, I suppose… I was just afraid to face him. Isn't it the same for you? How long are you going to keep running away from Teo?"

"What? What are you talking about? I'm not running from anything."

"Right... That's why you were hiding downstairs."

"I wasn't hiding! I was thinking!"

Out of frustration, Toph formed a fist with the hand of her unbroken arm. Her plan had backfired – Emi had actually challenged her. It wasn't something she expected. Was she acting the same as Emi had been? She recalled the talks that she and Haru had while they were making plans about how he could approach Emi. She remembered how quickly Teo's heart had been racing earlier that morning – when she touched his arm. Was she afraid to face him? The notion seemed absurd. She was Toph Bei Fong, the world's greatest earthbender – she wasn't afraid of anything.

The sound of familiar voices distracted Toph from her thoughts.

"Wow! This is unbelievable!" Haru exclaimed when he flew past the window on a glider.

"I told you!" Teo yelled a second later as he followed in close pursuit.

Toph's cheeks flushed at the sound of his voice; Emi rushed to the window to watch.

"Be careful of the wind currents, turn to your right. Watch out for that marker over there!" Teo called, referring to a long, skinny orange pole that was sticking up from the mountain side.

But before he could react, Haru's glider caught a downdraft and he found himself rushing uncontrollably back down towards the mountain.

Toph heard the crash a nanosecond before Emi's scream and felt the girl rush pass her towards the nearest exit.

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**Author Note: ***Hides under the table* Don't kill me for the cliffy! I'll get to work on Ch. 17 as soon as I can. I have a ton of homework to get to, and I don't want to bother Leona629 for a week - give or take - so that she can finish up an Ursoda fic that she is writing for me. I promise that you'll love Ch. 17, though! So please look forward to it.


	17. Admitting the Truth

**Where Earth Meets Sky:**

_Chapter 17: Admitting the Truth_

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**Author Note: **I'm sorry that it took me longer then I expected to get to writing this chapter. I hope that it has turned out ok and that I have kept everyone well enough in character. Please let me know what you think.

**Disclaimer:** These characters and the setting do not belong to me! They are the property of Mike & Bryan! Only the ideas for this fic are my own. oh, and Milo, Yuki, & Emi...

* * *

The muscles in Emi's legs burned as she pushed herself to run faster. Tears blurred her vision and she stumbled over the rocky surface. Teo's glider came into view in the distance. Someone stood beside him, bent over, brushing at their knees. "Haru?" she wondered out loud. Could it really be him? It seemed impossible that he could walk away from such an accident. When the figure stood to his full height, Emi saw that it was him.

Was it a miracle that he was standing? "Haru!" she cried and continued forward over the rough terrain. Almost there, only a few more feet and she would verify that he wasn't an illusion. Her foot slid on a mound of loose gravel and she fell forward.

"Emi?" Haru caught her under the arms before she landed face first on the ground. "What's wrong?"

With his help, Emi steadied herself and began to examine him for injuries. "You're okay? How is it possible?"

She was still checking him over for even the smallest scratch when he lifted her face to look at his. "I'm fine," he assured her and traced a finger down her tear stained cheek.

Overcome with relief, Emi leapt up and hugged around his neck. "Thank the spirits! I was so worried!"

Haru wrapped his arms around her waist to return her hug. "I'm an Earthbender, remember?"

"You should have seen it, it was great!"

Emi jumped out of Haru's arms at the sound of Teo's voice. She had forgotten that he was there.

"The way that he softened the ground before he hit was awesome!" Teo continued to explain, not paying attention to the couple.

Emi was reminded of how Toph softened the stone steps that led into the basement in order to cushion her fall.

Haru scratched the back of his head and laughed Teo's comment away. "I didn't know if I would have enough time, the ground came rushing at me so fast."

"Wow, Earthbenders are really amazing…" Emi's quiet voice was barely audible. She was looking at the sand-like looking surface of the mountain that should be solid rock.

"I'm sure that all benders are amazing," Haru replied.

Emi shook her head. "I don't know… Maybe… I've only known Earthbenders – you and Toph, and you're both amazing. Toph just did that same thing when I almost fell down the stairs," Emi explained in a rush, awed by the similarities between the two Earthbenders.

"Wait…" Teo cut her off. "You're saying that Toph was Earthbending just now?" Emi covered a hand over her mouth as if she had just spilled a guarded secret. "Did the doctor clear her for bending again?"

Emi wasn't sure what to say. Toph had told Teo that she had an appointment with the doctor about her broken arm, but when Emi went to the doctor in search for Toph, she was told that there wasn't any such appointment. Emi had found Toph in the basement and had accused her of running away from Teo. Toph claimed that she was thinking. Emi didn't have any idea what was going on, but she understood that Toph seemed to have a lot on her mind; Emi wished that she would talk to her about it. "I… don't know…," Emi stammered in reply and looked away.

"If I hadn't done it, then she would have been hurt pretty bad." The group turned to see Toph standing a few feet behind them. "I'm glad you're okay."

"Thanks," Haru replied.

"Not you. I already knew that you were okay, but she was really upset." Toph nodded towards Emi.

"Yeah," Haru smiled and reached to take Emi's hand; she blushed at the sudden contact.

"Urgh!" Toph exclaimed when she felt Emi's heart skip a beat before starting to race. "Since you're okay, I'll be leaving now." Toph turned to leave and waved her hand to the trio.

"Toph, Wait up!" Teo moved to push his glider after her, but the terrain made it difficult. He wondered how he had even managed to land. With a sigh of frustration he watched as Toph continued to walk away.

Seeing his friend's situation, Haru made a simple gesture with his free hand to create a smooth trail for Teo's glider to roll on. At the same moment Toph spun around and secured the earth to stop the path from continuing towards her. "What are you doing?" she shrieked in alarm.

"Teo needs to get back to the temple. The rough terrain is making it difficult for him to move. What's it look like I'm doing? What are you doing? I didn't think that you were supposed to earthbend?" Haru spoke in a calm and factual manner.

Toph glared at nothing in particular and released her hold on the earth before turning and continuing to walk away. "Fine, whatever."

Teo shot a grateful look at Haru before hurrying after Toph.

* * *

Toph could feel him closing in on her. The vibrations of his glider as it rolled over the earth were unmistakable and impossible not to notice. He was about ten feet away; she took a deep breath – unsure that she was ready to face him. Emi had been right, she was running away. She was afraid of his feelings; afraid of her reaction to how he felt. His racing heartbeat from earlier that morning caused a fluttering sensation in her stomach. It was her lack of control over how her body reacted to him that scared her most. He was now rolling beside her. She desperately tried to calm the beating of her heart.

"Did I do something to upset you, Toph? It seems like you have been avoiding me all day."

"It has nothing to do with you," she lied. "I just have a lot on my mind."

"You know that you can talk to me, right? I'd like to help, if you'll let me."

Toph came to a sudden stop. Was she going to be caught in her own lie? Why did he have to be so nice? Teo stopped beside her and reached to take her hand. Toph yanked her arm away. That was the other thing - she couldn't read him like she could read everyone else.

"Sorry," Teo said with a hint of disappointment.

"I… It's…" Toph was at a loss for words. "You surprised me. I can't see you… through my bending."

"Oh…" Teo paused to think about her response. "It's easy to forget you're blind."

Toph shrugged and continued walking. "It's fine."

"Is it?" Teo was doubtful, but pushed after her.

"Of course, why wouldn't it be?"

"I don't know, it feels like you're running, Toph, and I can't keep up."

They weren't far from the temple now. Toph wished that Milo and Yuki would fly by and entice Teo to join them so that she could disappear into the temple; but that would prove Teo's point.

"Can we sit down and talk?" Teo asked.

"You're already sitting," Toph pointed out. Teo sighed. "Okay, Okay, It was a bad joke." Toph realized that she had to face things as they were; or at least think of something that would buy her more time to sort things out. She stopped walking and considered bending herself a seat before remembering the limitation set on her by the doctor. Teo seemed to understand her dilemma.

"Why don't we go to the library?"

The mention of the library reminded Toph of how this all began; it was the source of all of her uneasiness. What was that myth that he had read to her again? Something about the earth and sky and their first kiss; but when Toph imagined her first kiss, it hadn't been with Sokka – whom she liked the most at the time. It had been with someone that she couldn't see clearly. The fact that she couldn't see Teo caused her cheeks to burn as she began to understand her vision.

Toph shook her head at the thought of going to the library alone with Teo. After taking a deep breath she turned towards him. "It's fine if only one of us is sitting."

Teo gave her a curious look, confused by her demeanor. He noted the slight flush in her face and how she shifted a foot over the earth's surface. "Alright…"

There was a moment of silence between them as Toph thought about what she wanted to say. "The truth is that… I don't know what to do. These feelings that I'm having… and your feelings, I don't understand them."

"Toph," Teo pushed closer to her.

"No!" Toph jumped back, away from him. "Don't touch me!" The glider stopped. "When you touch me, I become confused… I don't understand my emotions and that… that scares me." There was more silence as Teo processed her words. "And the fact that I can't see you is frustrating. Like now, I can't tell how you're feeling. Do you view me as being weak now? I'm not able to tell, but at the same time, I'm afraid to find out.

"You're not weak, Toph. You're one of the strongest people that I know. It takes a lot of strength to admit you're afraid of something."

His words were like the calm in the eye of a hurricane. Toph's knees buckled beneath her and she sank to the ground. Teo reached out and touched her arm and she felt his tension. "I'm okay…" she hadn't realized just how worked up she had been about what his reaction might be.

Teo reluctantly withdrew his arm. "I was worried, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to touch you."

Toph shook her head. "It's okay, I realized that. Thanks. Admitting everything to you just took a lot out of me."

Teo smiled; she looked cute when she was trying to act tough. "I'll tell you whatever you want to know. If you want to know how I feel, just ask. I'll even tell you if you don't ask. Like now, I'm thinking that you're very cute."

Toph could feel the blood rush to her face. She continued to sit, dumbfounded by his words.

"Come on, let me help you up," he held his hand out towards her and tapped her shoulder so that she would know where it was.

Toph blinked and looked in the direction of his voice before tentatively accepting his offered assistance. "Thanks."


	18. Upcoming Events

**Where Earth Meets Sky:**

_Chapter 18: Upcoming Events_

* * *

**Author Note: **Hi, everyone. Yeeaahh... I know this chapter is long awaited. I'm sorry! I just needed a little break from writing this. I felt like I was starting to take Toph way out of character. I mean, true, she's been changing and growing a lot through this fic... but I feared that maybe she was starting to act girly..

Then when I started to write my Smellershot fics, I started to see how similar Smellerbee and Toph are, and it started to confuse me some about their characters. That's the problem about writing more then one fic for the same series at a time. Unfortunately it happened to me, also, when I was writing my **CCS-2**, **Tomoyo's Desire** and **Xiao Lang's Formalities**. I started to feel like XLF's was the going in the same direction as CCS-2. *sigh* One of these days, I plan to get back to finishing XLF's along with my **CCS-3**fic.

Before then, I want to finish writing this before Legend of Korra airs.

So, I do have things planned out. I know basically how the next chapter will go and I have the basic plot ideas for the chapters after that... hmmm... I don't know... I may have to rethink the ending... but just what I have planned, in general, atm will probably require 8 or 9 more chapters... not counting the ending. I need to get my butt to work.

Anyway, thank you all for being so patient with me and for supporting this series. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Next up should be lots of fun.

* * *

Toph heard the sound of someone running towards her. After making an adjustment with her footing, she was able to determine that it was Emi.

"Toph!" The older girl pounced on her from behind; by now she was used to it. "Look at this!" Emi released her hold and stepped around her, apparently shaking a piece of paper for her to see.

Resisting the urge to comment, Toph blew her bangs out of her eyes; they had come loose from the single braid that ran down her back.

"Oh, right…" Emi commented. Evidently she caught the hint and remembered that Toph was blind.

Toph smirked. "Don't worry about it, Princess," she said at the feel of Emi's sudden disappointment. "What's that?"

"Oh, right!" she repeat, her voice regaining its previous sense of excitement. "It's a flier!"

"Uh-huh…" Toph raised an eyebrow and waited for her to continue.

"For the Solstice Ball coming up next month!" Emi was bubbling with excitement.

Toph cocked an eyebrow. "Uh-huh… that's nice, Princess. Have fun!" She stepped around the hyper girl before her and continued on her way. Emi rushed after her.

"You'll be going too, of course! I mean, you have to! It'll be so much fun!"

"Does this _ball_ include formal wear?"

"Of course! It's the one time during the year that everyone dresses up."

"In that case, then I won't be going." Once again, Toph continued on her way, only to be stopped when Emi grabbed hold of her good arm.

"Why not? Please Toph, you have to go! Please?" Emi pleaded in desperation.

"Where does Toph have to go?" Teo asked as he brought his chair to a stop behind the girl in question. Toph heard the rustling of paper and detected Haru as he bent to pick up the flier that Emi dropped.

"A Solstice ball?" Haru read out loud.

Teo reached up to take the flier. "It's that time of year already?"

Emi nodded and looked over Toph's shoulder at the two boys with a pout. "But Toph says she won't go."

"More like I _can't_ go," Toph corrected and wiggled her hand out of Emi's grasp. "You said so yourself, it's a formal occasion. I don't have anything to wear." Through her feelings of relief, Toph smiled an apology.

"Well then we'll just have to go shopping," Haru suggested, much to Toph's dismay. "I don't have anything formal to wear either, but I wouldn't miss this chance to spend such a special occasion with Emi."

Toph felt Emi's heart skip a beat and was acutely aware of the romantic atmosphere; it made her uncomfortable, standing between the two love birds. Over the past week they had been inseparable, and every bit as bad as Sokka and Suki had ever been. "Eww…" She complained in annoyance and stepped aside. "Keep your love bugs to yourself, will ya?"

"Aww, come on Toph. It'll be fun." Teo reached out for her hand. Toph's stomach flipped in response to his touch.

"Nah-uh…" Toph shook her head in response, forgetting her will for a moment. His hands, though rough and calloused from years of maneuvering his glider, were larger then hers and strong. Their warmth permeated through her defenses and spread up her arms to settle in her cheeks. "I don't like formal affairs; had enough of them in Gaoling."

"Except this time you'll be among friends and will be having fun," Emi insisted. "Please, Toph? This will be my first year going. I really want to go. I… I've always wanted to go… but was always too shy to go by myself. For the first time in my life, I have friends."

Toph looked in Emi's direction, not masking her shocked expression. "You mean to tell me that you've never gone before?" Emi shook her head, and looked down, self-conscious with her confession.

"Until you came around, Toph, Emi was a very quiet person, too shy to make friends. She always hid herself away, doing chores," Teo reminded her. Haru reached for one of Emi's arms and pulled her closer, offering strength in her obvious moment of weakness.

Feeling defeated in a three against one battle that she couldn't fight with earthbending, Toph let out a heavy sigh. "Okay, Okay… I'll go."

With a high pitch squeal of excitement, Emi clung onto the smaller earthbender with a tight hug. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

* * *

The next morning, Emi knocked on Toph's bedroom door before the sun began to crest over the horizon. When she refused to wake up, Emi practically pulled her off of the bed. "Come on, Toph, we have to leave soon."

Toph turned over and buried her face into her pillow. She may not have been able to see the first rays of light starting to shine in through her window, but she knew by her own body's internal clock that not even the cooking staff was awake and making breakfast, yet. To make matters worse, she had been dreaming. In it, somebody was holding her. Not in a restraining way, but in a loving one. She couldn't remember the last time that she took comfort from being so close to anyone; maybe when she was a little girl and her father treated her with loving adoration rather than possessive over protectiveness. Like with the vision of her first kiss that she had after hearing the myth of the earth and sky, she couldn't tell who was holding her. There wasn't a heartbeat that she could distinguish, and she was blinded even from her earthbending.

She felt so comfortable, so warm, so… safe…

Safe? Why did she need to feel safe? She could take care of herself.

As her consciousness started to awaken, she found that the arms that were holding her in her dream began to entangle her. The more she struggled the less she could move. That sense of comfort turned to one of panic.

Somehow she managed to pull one arm loose. The other wouldn't move.

Hands came from nowhere trying to pull her back. She rolled away, pushing at the disembodied limbs but her mobility only became more restricted. Then she was falling and awoke with a start when she hit something hard; the floor.

"Oh my spirits, Toph! Are you alright?" Emi gasped.

It took Toph a moment to realize what had happened. She was tangled up in her blanket and had fallen off of the bed - thankfully landing on her unbroken arm. Through the vibrations in the floor, she could feel Emi rushing around the bed.

"I'm so sorry! You wouldn't wake up, and when I tried to wake you, you started to push me away and flail around in your sleep." Emi helped to unwrap the blanket. "Are you okay? You didn't hurt your arm did you? Should I get the doctor? "

Through her hazy daze of sleep, Toph was slow to comprehend what Emi was talking about; the older girl was talking in a rush. The only thing that hurt was her shoulder, but judging by its maneuverability, it wasn't broken. "I'm fine," she assured her panicked friend after being pulled to her feet. Kicking the blanket away, she took account of everything around her. A quick focus through her feet confirmed that everyone else within the general proximity was still asleep. "What's the deal? It's still the middle of the night.

"No it's not, it's morning. If we're going to go into town with the guys, we have to have an early start." Satisfied that there weren't any serious injuries to her friend, Emi moved across the room to the chair, where she picked up what lay over its back.

"What are you doing?" Toph asked with slight annoyance, snapping awake enough to realize what was going on. "I can get dressed on my own! I don't need your help!" she exclaimed and snatched her clothing out of Emi's hands.

Emi cringed, "So… sorry. I was just trying to help."

"I don't need help!"

"O… Okay," Emi was startled by Toph's sudden outburst for independence. "We're meeting at the landing strip. I… I'll go check on the guys."

Toph blew at her bangs after Emi left the room. It was too early; she blamed her actions on lack of sleep.

* * *

"Why are we meeting here?" Toph grumbled in annoyance when she met up with everyone in the assigned location.

"Toph, you're here!" Emi exclaimed and was seconds away from pouncing on the little earthbender, but Toph's blind glare directed at her caused her to stop short, flaying her arms to keep from falling flat on her face.

"Why are we here?" Toph repeated. "The path down the mountain is over there," she pointed off in the distance, towards the main entrance into the temple.

Emi swallowed and glanced towards Teo. She knew this wasn't going to work. There was no way that Toph was going to agree to do it.

Teo rolled his glider forward, towards Toph, and spoke in a calm, matter of fact tone. "It's faster to get down the mountain this way. Then we can meet up with the caravan that left for town a few days ago, to return.

Toph took a step back, unwilling to believe what he was suggesting. "No way, forget it! I'll just meet you there." She made an abrupt turn to head towards the mountain path but was stopped by Haru when he stepped in front of her. It was earthbender against earthbender as Toph made the attempt to slide him out of the way with a wave of her hand. Haru held fast – the earth beneath his feet refusing to bend to her command. Instead, he slid forward in one fluid motion and just barely caught her wrist as she attempted to dodge to the side. Toph sent a pillar of stone jetting up from the earth between them. Haru was up and over it, using his own column of earth to propel him, before she could register that he was gone from her perceptions. From the air above her, Haru came down to land behind her and swept her off of her feet and into his arms.

Toph let out an uncharacteristic, very girly scream and kicked her legs, struggling to push against his hard muscled chest. "Put me down!" she demanded in protest, and he did… right into Teo's lap.

Having been ready, Teo quickly strapped the harness that had been added to his glider, around her, keeping her from jumping back to her feet. She continued to struggle against the vice-like hold around her waist and pushed against him, bringing her fist up to slam into his shoulder. Without earthbending force, Teo caught her fist easily. Her wide eyed, blind gaze stared at him in surprise and she stopped resisting. "You don't trust me?" He sounded hurt by the notion. "I trusted you when I went with you, out of my element, into the bath house drain…"

Toph felt her cheeks warm up, but was unwilling to admit that she was afraid. "Earth _is_ your element! I didn't take you out of it."

"I don't have any connection to the earth; you should know that better than anyone. My element is air," he replied. She could feel his pulse racing through the palm of his hand - it matched her own. "Trust me…" It sounded like he was pleading with her.

After a moment Toph adjusted her position until she could snake her good arm around his neck. "Then you'll have to deal with this." Though she had meant for her voice to sound harsh and confident it came out sounding quiet and meek.

A smile crept onto his face, and he took the liberty to give her a reassuring hug, planting a feather light kiss against her forehead before giving the sign for Haru to push his glider into motion until he caught an updraft and soared into the air. Toph tightened her grip around him and buried her face into the crook of his neck, but otherwise didn't make a sound. Angling the glider downwards, he was soon joined by Haru and Emi, each who sported a glider of their own.


End file.
